Saving You
by C.Queen
Summary: Teddy Lupin is currently in possession of the weirdest cat he's ever met, and his best friend has also recently got one that's equally...unique and unusual. This is no coincidence though, because both cats are in fact former wizards with ulterior motives of their own, as well as trying to protect their idiot 'owners' from a new threat to Hogwarts' students.
1. This Mission

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know if this idea interests you as I know it's weird.

This Mission

Seventeen year old Head Boy Teddy Lupin was quite convinced that he was current owner of the strangest cat to ever prowl the Earth. As a major animal lover he had multiple pets at home that his grandmother somewhat grudgingly took care of for him while he was at Hogwarts, and Teddy had thought he had a pretty good grasp on how various animals, including cats, thought. Until Noir. The one year old, pure black cat had shown up at his house at the end of July in the rain, his grandmother the first to spot the feline through the window, watching them. Naturally he'd gone out to get it, and when no one had claimed the cat he'd decided to add it to his personal menagerie. Giving the cat to someone else had been out of the question when it became very clear that Noir was one of those cats that hated just about everyone. He alone was allowed to so much as touch his majesty, everyone else getting warning hisses that could and did eventually end in claws and bites if he wasn't taken seriously. But that wasn't what made Noir so strange, being bitchy wasn't unusual for a cat, but other…quirks his cat possessed made Noir very unique.

For starters Noir followed him everywhere, but not because he wanted affection or was curious by nature. He just did, like he was guarding him from something. And yet unlike other cats he'd had Noir never followed him into the loo, never groomed himself where anyone could watch him, and he stole food from the table and pantries with a skill that was now legendary among his family and friends because not even his grandmother had been able to catch Noir at it once. And NOTHING got by Andromeda Black Tonks for long. She'd even set traps, and he'd gotten through them without any problems.

Because even more strange than his often odd behavior was how smart the cat was. You could look in his eyes and actually see the intelligence in the black orbs that stared back at you, Noir's irises so dark that at first, second and third glance you usually missed the fact that he did have cat's eyes. Noir was so odd his grandmother had casted some spells to make sure that Noir wasn't a wizard in disguise or being controlled in some way before agreeing to let him keep the thing provided he took it to Hogwarts with him once school started.

The two didn't get along, obviously.

So here he was, patrolling the Hogwarts Express on the way to his final year at the school, with a cat perched on his shoulder. He'd put the cat in a carrier and left it in a compartment with Victoire and his other cousins, but not ten minutes after that someone had yelped loudly behind him, Teddy turning around to find a second year clutching a bleeding hand having made the mistake of trying to pick Noir up. When he'd walked over and crouched down to pick the badly behaved feline up Noir had jumped up, ran up his arm, and taken his present seat on his shoulder, digging in his claws in a warning as to what would happen if he was moved.

Bloody cat.

Luckily for the both of them he had a very well developed appreciation of the absurd, as well as no problem making a fool of himself for the amusement of others. It came from growing up surrounded by Weasleys, who'd adopted him into their clan by way of his godfather. So he tolerated the weird looks, questions, and pointed fingers as various students caught sight of his shoulder's decoration, Noir displaying his usual gracefulness by not once nearly sliding off his perch, his head turning this way and that as though he were patrolling the compartments as well.

"Teddy!"

Turning around again Teddy raised a hand in greeting, cutting Victoire off before she could apologize for letting Noir escape the compartment. "Don't worry about it, nothing keeps Noir out if he wants something. I should have known better than to think he'd stay with you lot while I went patrolling."

"But how did he get out?! The carrier was locked and we'd closed the door." Openly glaring at Noir Victoire Weasley made no effort to hide the fact that she pretty much hated Teddy's newest pet, a feeling that was utterly reciprocated on Noir's part.

Which was just another reason he shouldn't have left the cat behind, Teddy silently acknowledged, regardless of what a nuisance Noir could be even when he wasn't trying to be. Heaven help you when he was actively trying to drive you over the edge.

"Look, don't worry about it, trying to figure out how the little escape artist does it will-."

Whack, Teddy found himself being bitch slapped across his cheek by one furry paw.

Noir did not like to be called little.

"Dammit, Noir!" Reaching over Teddy grabbed the feline by the back of his neck and holding onto the scruff brought Noir over so that they were eye to eye, the cat glaring right back at him, as well as giving a low hiss of warning. "I've told you not to bitch slap me!"

The look in the cat's eyes almost seemed to say that he'd been telling him not to call him little even longer.

"That cat is a menace, Teddy. You should get rid of him. Or pawn him off on someone who hasn't the sense to know pure evil when he sees it! Give him to a Slytherin!"

"He doesn't like Slytherins. Or at least he doesn't like my grandmother. You don't like anyone, do you, Noir?"

Narrowed eyes, and then Noir's front paws came up again, though they just brush against Teddy's cheeks without claws or dark intent behind them. Other than purring and leaning into strokes delivered by Teddy, this was about as affectionate as Noir ever got.

Smiling in spite of himself, it was somewhat flattering that he was the lone person in the universe Noir didn't hate with cold, icy distain, Teddy leaned in to rub noses with the feline before placing his cat back on his shoulder, knowing too much affection would get him nothing but scratches.

"Go ahead and head back, Tori. I've got him."

Muttering something that sounded a great deal like a wish that she could throw Noir off the train, Victoire worked up a bright smile for him and then sauntered off, a number of male students pressing their faces against the glass or opening up their compartment doors to stick their heads out so that they could better appreciate the view before she disappeared from sight.

)

If cats could roll their eyes Regulus would have done so. Today's youth, they were a complete and total disgrace. He would have washed his hands of any blood relation who behaved the way these young hooligans did these days. Of course Teddy wasn't the most shining example of what a wizard should be either, but he was a good boy overall. Or at least tolerable to be around, which was more than he could say about a lot of people he'd been forced to meet since Teddy attracted people like bees to honey. Like that Victoire Weasley girl. He absolutely despised her. Thinking that she could be the next Mrs. Teddy Lupin, hah. Over his dead and rotting cat corpse. Not that that was why he'd been assigned to be Teddy's guardian beast of course, but he still saw it as part of his duty. There wouldn't be a lot of point in saving the Hufflepuff from whatever dark force was apparently going to threaten his Blood traitor cousin's grandson in the future after all, if the boy ended up marrying that bossy blonde trollop who wasn't even entirely human!

And yes, he wasn't human at the moment either, but he was going to be. That was why he was stuck in this body in the first place. Because he not only didn't believe he would fail, but was willing to accept the consequences if he did. Most people stuck in his position, unable to enter either heaven or hell, remained stuck in between the two planes of existence for the rest of their miserable afterlives, clinging pathetically to the hope that eventually they would reach a spiritual understanding of their previous actions that would lead to their admittance into heaven.

Not him though. He'd taken the route of agreeing to be Teddy's guardian when the position was offered to him. If he succeeded in protecting the boy, as well as behaving in a manner that pleased those in charge of such things, he would eventually be able to shift from a cat into a human being again and have a chance of living in the real world as a man once more.

The catch was, because there was always a catch, that he had a cat's lifespan to live and prove himself, and failure meant not only death, but the end of his soul completely. Ordinary animals, after all, didn't have a soul that could go on after death. Regulus Black would cease to exist, once and for all.

But unlike most, who couldn't bear the idea of a permanent end, Regulus was just fine with that. He had no one waiting for him in heaven that he wanted to see, and the only one who would mourn him was his mother. And then there was Kreacher, the former Slytherin mentally added, though he had no ideas if house elves lived on too. The house elf was still alive though, and he'd take his elf back once he was human again. If he became human again.

Because the chance to live again, to do all the things he'd planned to do before he'd been forced to end his own life…for that he would risk everything even if he ended up in limbo again after his second death. Which was admittedly most likely given the fact that people both alive and dead tended not to like him, but so long as he lived first he was fine with that.

Lost in thought Regulus jolted back to awareness when he felt familiar hands on him, instinctively fighting the urge to draw blood as he was once again lifted off Teddy's shoulder, and then settled into the crook of the Hufflepuff's arm like he was a baby.

"Quit glaring at me, you're just fine. It's more normal for me to carry you like this. You aren't a bloody parrot, you know."

Obviously, Regulus thought dryly, shaking his head but tolerating this new position since constantly fighting with the boy would only end with him being given away to someone else or dropped off at a pet store. He knew Teddy was too soft hearted to outright abandon him.

It was actually embarrassing really, how sweet and gentle the boy was. A Hufflepuff, no less. In the Black family. A complete and total scandal really, and that was before you factored in the boy's less than ideal ancestry on both sides thanks to Andromeda's abominable taste in men.

And yet…and yet Regulus couldn't help but…feel somewhat positive towards his descendant. It was impossible not to really. The boy was so absurdly likable, to the point where he got along with pretty much everyone regardless of age or house, and never had Regulus known someone so…truly good, to their very core. It set his Slytherin, Black teeth on edge at times, but it was impossible for him not to care for Teddy.

Hufflepuff or not.

"Soon we'll be at Hogwarts, and you'll have lots of new enemies to make." Teddy murmured to him, the boy's free hand moving to stroke his fur. "You could even win some points with the others if you kept Mrs. Norris the Second busy so that she isn't tracking us all the time."

Oh but Teddy knew how to pet a person, Regulus thought as he moved into the caresses, this being one of the very best things about being stuck with the boy. Not even embarrassed anymore by the purrs he couldn't seem to hold in, Regulus let loose and rumbled away like the motor of that stupid motorcycle his brother had been so proud of.

"There's my good boy. See, you need to show this side of you more often."

Ignoring the comment, he'd promised himself recently that he would only lash out if Teddy called him little, Regulus reminded himself why he tolerated these annoying shows of affection above and beyond the obvious reasons.

He had a job to do and he sure as Merlin couldn't accomplish anything if he was magically confined to his cat carrier or Teddy's room for the safety of the other Hogwarts students. Not that he couldn't get out of either of those places, he could, but it wasted valuable energy and time on his part, when he had to use magic to get out of said situations without being seen.

His orders were not to let Teddy out of his sight, and he had every intention of following that directive until he was human again.

)

In general Teddy got along with everyone, from the most popular to the outcasts, so having a cat that repelled people as thoroughly as Noir did was more than a little troublesome in the Hufflepuff's opinion. He had a feeling that he was going to have to get a T-shirt that warned people against trying to get near his pet, though how he'd get the cat to wear it and not tear it to shreds within seconds of being put in it was currently beyond him. He'd had a devil of a time getting the cat to accept the collar that was currently around the feline's neck, the bell originally attached to it long gone. He'd searched everywhere, and replaced the damn thing three times, but the bells always went missing.

Noir liked to sneak up on people.

Looking down at said cat, who was currently blissed out from his petting and looked completely harmless and adorable, Teddy shook his head over how appearances could be so very deceiving and then continued his walk through of the train before heading out, having confirmed that all the students had left their compartments now that they'd arrived at Hogwarts.

His job done Teddy left the train for the still somewhat crowded platform, returning the wave he got from Hagrid since it was never hard to pick his Care of Magical Creatures out of a crowd.

"Wotcher, Hagrid." Teddy called out, weaving through the students who were still milling around, careful to make sure that none of them accidentally bumped him and set Noir off. He preferred to keep the cat in a peaceful frame of mind for as long as humanly possible.

"Good ta see ya, Teddy." Hagrid assured him once he'd made it over, giving the boy's currently magenta hair an affectionate rub with one hand while pointing to Noir with the other. "And this must be the cat you were telling me about at Harry's birthday party. Noir you said?"

"Yeah, but don't try and touch him." Teddy warned, knowing that Hagrid would be inclined to do so despite the stories he'd told the man about Noir's personality disorder. "He'll maim you."

"Ah, I've heard that before, Teddy and-"

"No, seriously, Hagrid. He's more vicious than a Norwegian Ridgeback."

Noir lifted his head up then, meeting Hagrid's gaze squarely, in a way that had both Teddy and Hagrid thinking that the feline was currently plotting very bad things.

"Blimey…got a powerful stare, doesn't he? Could probably win a staring contest with the Headmistress."

Imagining Professor McGonagall and Noir having a staring contest amused the heck out of Teddy, especially since his cat had won every contest he'd had with Grandmother. The little bugger just did not back down or blink, his grandmother of the opinion that Noir had more ego and pride than ten Slytherins put together.

He'd made the mistake of saying that maybe Noir had been a Black in another lifetime then, which had gotten him nothing but vegetables for a whole week. And not good vegetables either.

Telling Hagrid that story had them both laughing, completely unaware of the real reason Noir was smirking at them from Teddy's arms.

"There you are, Teddy, we were wondering what was keeping you. Hello, Hagrid."

"Allan!"

)

Well aware that Allan was Teddy's best friend, they'd yet to meet due to the fact that the supposedly brilliant boy had spent his last month before school in America visiting his father's family, Noir took advantage of the fact that Teddy was looking in the Gryffindor's direction to get a good look at the very tall redhead who he'd seen pictures of and read letters from. And then his attention shifted completely over to the fact that boy also had a cat in his arms. A Siamese cat with brown eyes that were locked on his own, both recognizing at the same moment what the other was.

They'd both come here to Hogwarts with a job to do, and now they knew it was severe enough that not one but two at least partially damned souls had been brought back to this plane of existence.

While Allan explained why he had the cat, especially since he'd managed to weasel his way out of taking any from Teddy before, the two cats eyed each other for a few moments more before Regulus figured that he might as well introduce himself since he was betting that they were going to be spending a lot of time together whether they liked it or not.

"Regulus Black, though he calls me Noir."

"I see. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Though the other cat answered him in perfect English Regulus could hear the hint of a European accent so stifled he couldn't place it even as he strained to do so. "I am currently answering to the name Siam."

"And your actual name would be…?"

"Siam will do for now." Was the cat's enigmatic response. "And I believe I've already met the person we need to protect these two from, which I think is far more important for us to discuss."


	2. Target Acquired

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and all the situations said characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy.

Target Acquired

In the Great Hall Regulus's first thought when he got a look at the boy Siam believed was their opponent in this battle they'd be fighting was that there was no way he could be bad enough to need two guardian beasts. His next thought was that yes, the exchange student from Beauxbatons had been sorted into Gryffindor, a definite strike against him, but there was a weak frailty to the boy that must have the school's bullies salivating like rabid animals in their seats. He'd never been the bully sort per say, but he'd hung out with more than his fair share of them in school and in the Death Eater's circles. He recognized their preferred prey. And yet…he wasn't about to discount Siam's opinion either. It wouldn't be the first time evil wore an innocent face after all, and the guy had been put into Gryffindor.

Unfortunately they were at different tables so all he could get at the moment was a visual, but he'd get more once the term started in the morning and he had time to roam and investigate things while Teddy was in class. He and Siam had set up a time to meet outside Gryffindor Tower, and then they were going to go through the guy's stuff as well as a pair of cats could.

Looking down at his paws Regulus scowled at them. They were bloody annoying and inconvenient as hell. But since he couldn't do anything about getting rid of said paws and the rest of the unfortunate form he'd been stuck in right now Regulus instead focused on what he had learned about the target thus far. He hadn't become one of the Dark Lord's most prized spies at such a young age by underestimating the importance of the small, often overlooked details.

Casper Binoche, seventh year, Gryffindor. Formerly a student of Beauxbatons, half British on his mother side. Pureblood in the sense that both his parents were of this world, the exact purity of his tree presently unknown. Sandy blond hair, pale green eyes, height and weight hard to judge from where he was but he'd estimate between five foot seven and five foot nine, around a hundred and forty pounds. The boy had fine, delicate features, almost androgynous really with that frail air that called to bullies and protectors alike.

That could be where Teddy came in, Regulus thought as he looked up at the Hufflepuff currently stuffing his face with food. Nothing roped Teddy in faster or more thoroughly than a wounded creature whether animal or human.

It was also now occurring to the Slytherin that the fact that he'd scorned pretty much every one of Teddy's acquaintance meant that him scorning Binoche wouldn't even registered with the Hufflepuff. He'd made a wrong move on this living chess board and he hated that. He was going to have to try and undo the damage there, Regulus mentally noted, though he did not like the idea of what he'd have to do in order to make his behavior towards Binoche stand out.

So instead he happily turning his attention to the small plate Teddy had just set down on the bench for him, Regulus neatly eating the shredded pieces of chicken that was his dinner. No stupid cat food for him, no siree. That stuff was disgusting and not fit for animal consumption, much less human. It had taken him a while to get that through Teddy's head, but he was glad to see that the training he'd given the boy hadn't been for nothing just because they were at Hogwarts.

It was so weird to be back at his former school, Regulus thought as he lifted his head to look around again, thinking it even more strange to look up to the front and not see Dumbledore at the head table. Not that he'd ever been a big fan of his former headmaster, he hadn't been, but he was actually getting a little nostalgic being back in the Great Hall like this. Now McGonagall sat in Dumbledore's chair, he'd actually gotten along with her decently enough. He'd gotten an Exceeding Expectations grade on his N.E.W.T.S for her class.

Of course back in the day he'd sat at the Slytherin table, but he didn't have a lot of respect for the offspring of the weak and spineless. He'd heard all about it a couple weeks ago, when Sirius's precious godson had dropped in to see his own godson and the two had discussed the fact that Potter's second son and Narcissa's grandson would be in the same year together. That had led to comments about his house that had made it clear that his house had been full of the weakest, most pathetic Slytherins his house had ever housed in Harry Potter's day. Deserting the school like that, running away when the Dark Lord and his followers had come to Hogwarts while even the Hufflepuffs stayed behind.

Shaking his head over that fact for the hundredth time Regulus turned his attention back to his food. He needed to become a man again if for no other reason than they needed real Slytherins in this world again.

)

After dinner Regulus found himself being carried once again, though he didn't struggle or make a sound of protest even though he really did hate not being able to walk about on his own two-four feet. He was going to behave better from now on, even if it killed him. Again. Plus he was on his way to the Hufflepuff common room, which he was a little interested in. He'd once heard a Mudblood first year from that house compare the rooms to hobbit holes, and while he had no idea what a hobbit was, he'd always remembered how much that fact had pleased the git. So he was interested in seeing these hobbit holes for himself.

Jaw dropping a little when Teddy went straight for a pile of barrels near the kitchen, poking at one of those barrels to make the passageway open, Regulus could hardly believe his eyes. This? This was the opening to Hufflepuff?

Oh for Merlin's sake.

Shaking his head Regulus listened as Teddy explained the rhythm of the tapping and where to tap to the first years, the fact that getting it wrong would lead you to being doused in vinegar from one of the barrels a small consolation to the exasperated Slytherin. To him this was the stupidest Common Room entrance he'd ever heard of in any of the wizarding schools, and he was embarrassed that he'd gone to school with students so dim witted they couldn't be expected to remember a simple password.

He was almost embarrassed on behalf of the Hufflepuffs who possessed half a brain. Almost.

Though he was willing to feel sorry for Teddy, Regulus decided, especially since the poor boy had already been stuck with something as pathetic as a badger for a house mascot.

Once they were actually in the common room Regulus had to admit that the décor of the place would somewhat make up for the embarrassment of being a Hufflepuff. It was actually very tasteful and lovely, reminding him of a summer house where light and flora were in abundance. Not that his family's summer residence had ever looked like this, but he'd been to others that had been. Andromeda's little hovel in the woods had had this feel too sometimes, mostly when she wasn't around to darken the corners.

And as per usual since he'd come back Regulus felt some painfully annoying stabs of both regret and sorrow for his cousin, though he did his best to push them aside by reminding himself that technically he was the only family member she'd lost to the first war when any action done by him had consequences. He hadn't been around to put her idiot Mudblood or Teddy's parents into harm's way. And he wouldn't have had he been alive because like it or not family mattered most to him. He might have cut all ties with Andromeda when she betrayed them all, but she'd still been a Black and of his blood. He'd have killed anyone who'd tried to end her life just because she'd been a silly girl with horrible taste in men.

Not that he'd forgiven her of course, for what she'd done. Blacks always held a grudge. Usually for life.

When Teddy set him down on one of the overstuffed couches, it was really comfortable, Regulus was not pleased to be told to stay but curled up anyway since he figured he might as well be comfortable while Teddy did the whole introduction to Hufflepuff. Keeping an ear out for any interesting information, the improved hearing one of the few things about being a cat he genuinely enjoyed, Regulus turned the other part of his mind to brainstorming how he was going to facilitate his coming and goings from this place. It was possible that the door was designed to let pets come and go as they pleased, but given the recent increase in wizards and witches with animagi forms Regulus figured he should have a Plan B. Though then again, given the incredibly simplicity of the Hufflepuff's entrance all he'd really need is a stick to replicate a wand and he'd be good to go.

Aware that someone had taken a seat on the other side of the couch, a little girl from his brief glance in that direction, Regulus was also aware that she was slowly edging closer to him. The closer she got the more wary he became, so that he couldn't ignore her and had to sit up and look in her direction to see what this little Hufflepuff was up to.

And then wished he hadn't.

Teary eyes, bottom lip trembling, a first year obviously, and one he was willing to guess had never been away from home for very long, much less by herself with no one with her that she knew and felt comfortable with. Knowing his luck she was probably a Mudblood too.

Glancing in Teddy's direction Regulus could see that the boy had indeed noticed the girl and was shooting her concerned looks while he lectured the other students. And looking back and forth between the two Regulus got an idea. One he really, really didn't like, but a thought that would probably help as part of his plan to reform his image a little.

Ugh. The things he had to do to become a wizard again.

Getting to his feet Regulus forced himself to close the small gap between him and the sniveling little girl, hopping into her lap and curling up there. He was not purring or nuzzling or-dammit.

Faster than a seeker going for a snitch, the girl had him in her arms, hugging him desperately against her chest while she made sniffling noises.

But Regulus thought of England and sucked it up, remaining loose in her arms and not fighting her hold even though he was pretty sure she'd be breaking ribs at the moment if she'd been stronger. When he looked over at Teddy he could see that the boy was both shocked and very pleased with him at the moment, which meant this was almost worth it. Almost. Because if it weren't for the fact that Teddy would probably try to give him another 'time out' for misbehavior in front of all the Hufflepuffs he'd probably be scratched the girl's face to get loose right now. He was not a teddy bear and being treated like one was worse than he'd imagined.

Finally Teddy was done with his lecture and the other students were dispersing to their respective dormitories, the Head Boy now able to come over and give the girl some one on one attention. Which meant that as soon as Teddy had taken a seat beside the girl Regulus wiggled out of her hold and quickly climbed his way up to Teddy's shoulder where he perched, just daring the girl to try and grab him back.

Fortunately Teddy was ridiculously good at comforting people, and before the girl knew it she was smiling like this was all one big adventure and actually skipped on her way out of the room and into the hallway that would lead to the dormitories. Once she was out of sight Teddy gently picked him up off his shoulder, the boy's hands wrapped around his waist to hold him in front of him so that they were eye to eye.

"I don't know what the hell just got into you, letting her use you like a teddy bear when you normally won't let anyone but me so much as touch your head. Either way, you did good, Noir."

And then Teddy kissed his forehead and Regulus didn't know how to react to that so he decided to continue playing nice kitty. The less he thought about the kiss and the fact he'd just let himself be used like a stuffed animal the better.

)

After making sure that everyone was in their rooms and that the noise levels weren't higher than one expected on the first day back to Hogwarts, Teddy headed for his own room with Noir in his arms. Once there the first thing he did after greeting his roommates was to tell them up front not to touch Noir unless the circumstances were life and death. They'd live longer that way. Of course they thought it was a joke, he could see it on their faces, so again he stated that they were to leave Noir alone and figured that whatever happened next would be on their heads so to speak. Though he'd feel bad about it, if Noir really got a piece of one of them. Thankfully the Medical Wing wasn't that far away in the grand scheme of things. Plus he had told the cat repeatedly that if he behaved really nasty he wouldn't be able to stay at Hogwarts. He hadn't thought it would sink in regardless of how smart the cat seemed to be, but Noir had let that little first year use him for comfort and that was completely out of character for him. Maybe he was mellowing.

Yeah, probably not.

Having placed Noir on his bed Teddy told him to stay put and then turned his attention to getting ready for bed while he shot the breeze with the other boys, catching up on what was new with them since the last time they'd spoken or sent a letter to each other. He wasn't particularly close with any of them, but they were good guys and he felt fairly lucky given the horror stories he'd heard from other people. Victoire was constantly bitching about how one of the girls she roomed with was constantly borrowing her make up or asking to wear her clothes, and as much as he loved Fred Teddy didn't doubt for a minute that that particular Weasley was hell to room with given his love of experimentation outside the classroom. The worst he had to deal with was Tobias's snoring, and all he had to do was put a spell around his bed to block out that noise.

The only noises he'd have to deal with tonight would come from Noir, Teddy thought as he looked over at the cat in question, who appeared to be ignoring all of them at the moment. Noir always slept beside him under the covers, like he thought he was a person too, and he tended to purr rather loudly in his sleep. Not that he minded so much, it was actually kinda adorable.

"So this is the latest addition to your zoo, Lupin?" Coming over to get a peek Stephen studied Noir with some interest, since normally Teddy was a little too much like Professor Hagrid when it came to wearing binders when it came to the dangers posed by various creatures. That Teddy was actually warning them away from this one suggested there was more to the cat then met the eye.

"Yeah. Found him wandering outside the house, no collar or anyone looking for him as far as I could tell. I think his last home was abusive because he's fairly tame unless you touch him, then he tends to go feral. I'm the only one he can stand usually."

"I won't risk it then."

"Good plan." Turning his attention to Garrick Teddy asked how things were going between him and his latest girlfriend. Last time they'd chatted things had been rocky.

"She dumped me." Heaving the sigh of someone who was constantly having girlfriend problems, Garrick came over to take a seat on the edge of Teddy's bed, keeping well away from the cat for the moment, though he was planning to try and make nice with the feline later. "So is the lovely Dominique single at the moment, or is she still dating that werewolf?"

"Still dating Christopher, yes." Teddy moved closer to set a quelling hand on his friend's shoulder. "And if you think Victoire's countless rejections hurt, you don't even want to try with Domi. She'd reject you and then Christopher would beat the crap out of you."

"Ah Victoire, my pitiless angel. How she breaks my heart each and every day." Garrick sighed dramatically, ignoring the groans of the other three boys who rightly feared the teenager would go into some poetic monologue about Victoire Weasley's beauty and femme fatale ways.

Flopped on his bed, which was beside Teddy's, Tobias said the same thing they'd been telling Garrick since Victoire's first year. "Give it up, Man. That one's only interested in one bloke at this school and it's not you."

Feeling all eyes moving to him Teddy hunched his shoulders defensively, not wanting to get into this argument again. He'd grown up with Victoire since they were toddler and baby, like family from her day one so to speak. The idea of dating her, it was completely weird and it was just never going to happen.

Noir would become a sweet, cuddly ball of fluff first.


	3. Seeking Clues

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and plot stories. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

Seeking Clues

Covertly making his way through the school's hallways, the task taking more time than he'd anticipated thanks to the amount of revolving the damn staircases had done since the last time he'd been within Hogwarts' walls, Regulus did his best to stay out of sight of everyone whether they be living or dead. Not that the ghosts that roamed the school walls could cause him any physical problems, but there was always the chance that one would decided to report his comings and goings to someone in authority. Most would just shrug it off as paranoia of course, but there were a few teachers, not to mention the current head mistress, who'd at least hear the spirit out and look into it. Plus Regulus was a former spy, he had a reputation to uphold even if everyone thought he was nothing but a cat.

Arriving at his destination, finally, Regulus came to a stop in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, thinking to himself that it made absolute sense to him that the door that led to the Gryffindor Common Room was guarded by a badly dressed, gluttenous, and loud mouthed diva.

"And aren't you a pretty kitty?"

'And aren't you a fat disgrace.' Regulus mentally returned, glaring up at the portrait who was making kissing noises in his direction. If he could he'd use his claws to whittle her down some he would have.

"Oh I could just eat you up with a spoon, you're such a pretty, pretty kitty. I wish I could cuddle you to death, yes I would."

Death by cannibalism or being smothered to death in the bosom of a highly obese, middle aged woman. And here he'd thought the way he'd actually died had been a bad way to go. Death by drowning and Inferios was sounding better by the minute.

Thankfully for Regulus's peice of mind the door opened then, revealing Siam in the doorway.

"You're late."

"Next time you can come to me then." Not about to take complaints from someone who wouldn't even tell him his real name, Regulus sauntered through the doorway and then gave the other cat a look that asked if he was just going to stand there all day or if they were actually going to look into the room of their so called target.

Rather than rise to the bait Siam turned around and started to lead Regulus down the short hallway that opened up into the common room, explaining as they went that Allan was one of Binoche's roommates, the other two not worth mentioning. Even if they did join forces with Binoche, he explained, they wouldn't be real assets to Binoche. More like liabilities in his books. Most Gryffindors were, they were such arrogant, over confident blowhards. It was no wonder really that so many of them died in the last two wars.

Warming up to Siam considerable once the other feline was done bashing the Gryffindor house, it was like he was talking to another Slytherin, Regulus asked what house Siam had been in, if he'd been a student at Hogwarts when he was a man.

A pause. "I didn't attend this school."

Given the European accent that left Dumstrang or Beauxbatons, and the more he listened the more he was leaning towards Eastern Europe, which meant it was likely the former. It went with Siam's attitude too. Not to mention there was no shortage of dark wizards and witches to come out of that school, while Beauxbatons...it was in France. Enough said. How he was going to further narrow it done to try and figure out who he was dealing with here...he had some ideas there too.

The stairs weren't a whole lot of fun when they headed up to the bedrooms, Regulus felt ridiculous jumping up them, but since Siam couldn't exactly make fun of him given that they were in the same boat Regulus concentrated solely on not missing a step or overestimating his leaps since falling down the stairs would only end badly. The last thing he needed right now was broken bones or a broken neck. Then it would really be game over.

Once they were at the top Regulus followed behind Siam, his sensitive nose wrinkling at the scents he was coming to quickly associate with large groups of teenage boys. While his human nose had never been sharp enough to detect such things before, the house elves here were highly skilled, his feline nose was a whole other matter. Gross.

"You asked me before, why I think he's the one. It's because he's a psycho or sociopath, the differences between the two are too negilible to distinguish as yet."

"And you know this how?"

"I've been told I'm a high functioning sociopath. I recognize faked emotions and feelings when I see it."

That was reassuring.

Shaking his head Regulus asked if Binoche had actually done anything that proved Siam's instincts where the French boy was concerned were correct. They were talking about a teenager after all. They regularly faked emotions and personas in order to be accepted into their desired peer groups, or simply survive the hormonal chaos.

"Unlike you I did not die a child. I know what I know."

"I am not a child."

"We will see."

Pretty sure that the way Siam was twitching his tail now was meant to be the other wizard's version of waving a red flag in front of a bull, Regulus coldly refused to rise to the bait, sensing that that was the whole purpose of the tail waving and general condescension. Siam wanted to get a sense of him, and Regulus had ever intention of doing his family name proud. He was a Black, he was above the opinions of everyone else. He could care less what Siam thought of him.

"This is it."

The door had been left slightly ajar, Regulus assumed for Siam's benefit, and so it was a simple matter for them to get into the bedroom and over to the bed that apparently belonged to their suspect.

Now the real work started.

)

Searching through someone's stuff, especially when you didn't want it to be visually obvious, was incredibly hard to do when you were low to the ground and only had paws and teeth to work with. Even with the magical abilities they'd been given to make their lives a little easier wasn't enough for them to get through the shielding Binoche had put up around his chest. Had they been humans and had their wands, they told each other, opening the wooden box would have been child's play to them. But they didn't and there was nothing interesting to find outside of that chest as far as they could tell.

Damn.

The boy was neat, everything that was out in the open had been stored away neatly and showed care in both their presentation and the care with which they'd been handled. The quality of the boy's belongings said middle class to both felines, and the single family portrait of Binoche with his parents didn't strike either of them as important, though it was interestingly enough the only family related object their search uncovered.

So overall the search had proven pointless except to confirm that Binoche was worth keeping an eye on because of the chest. Not that it was that big a flag either, since this was a school for witches and wizards, and therefore protective spells around belongings wasn't that unusual among the older students.

They were the ones most likely to be slipping in contraband after all.

Wishing he could kick the chest in front of him without risking serious harm, Regulus had to settle for muttering at it. "This is why I wanted to come back as a Capuchin monkey. Then I would have hands, wouldn't have to waste magic getting in and out of places, not to mention the fact that theoretically I might have been able to use a wand. But with the standard rule about what sort of pets are allowed at Hogwarts..."

"I had similar thoughts."

"Do you have any idea what the success rate is for what we're doing?"

"None. The powers that be wouldn't say, and I'd imagine anyone who actually succeeds either has their memories erased or a binding put on them so that they can't speak the truth of it. Can you imagine what would happen if it became known?"

A number of witches and wizards would swear off meat, that was for sure.

Trying another tact Regulus asked Siam what his connection to Allan was. That might help him identify the other feline, or at least give him another jumping off point.

"And how do you think that's any of your business?"

"He's Teddy's best friend, and anything that affects him is my business. You probably don't want to team up with me any more than I want to team up with you, especially as you won't even trust me with your real name, but we're stuck together because the odds are already against us. So I want to know, are you here for him or yourself?"

"Why does it matter?" Was Siam's oh so casual response. "Especially when I'm guessing you're simply taking advantage of your cousin's grandson as a way of escaping your last form of existence. I'm here to insure Allan's protection and I will do anything to guarantee that. That's ALL you need to know about me."

Regulus's eyes narrowed to mere slits. "I don't blindly follow anyone."

"Not anymore, you mean."

"I'll show myself out."

Giving Siam his back Regulus headed out of the room and down the hallway, glad that the steps were a little easier to get down then they'd been to get up. Steps hadn't been a problem in HIS dormitories, or Teddy's for that matter really.

Trust Gryffindors to do things the hard, stupid way.

)

There really were no words for how much Teddy wished that Victoire had never hit puberty. Things had been so much easier when she'd considered all the boys not part of her family to be gross, ill mannered prats who weren't worth the air they breathed. And hell, even the ones she'd been related to by blood had been on the receiving end of one of her sharp tongued lectures about how the world would be a better place if there were no boys in it. But ever since she'd decided that she was wrong and wanted to be a bride as much as she had when she was little Victoire had set her sights on him and nothing he said or did seemed to change that.

Now with most girls, at this point, he'd have probably forced himself to be borderline cruel in making it absolutely clear that nothing romantic was ever going to happen between the two of them, but this was a member of his family they were talking about here. Yes they didn't share blood, but the connection was there nonetheless.

And that connection seemed to give her the ability to hunt him down like a Niffler when she wanted to.

Staring down at her, searching for some way to get away without it getting embarrassing since Victoire wasn't above causing a scene, Teddy opened his mouth, not sure really what he was going to say, when something else caught his attention.

Namely someone yelling out, "You vicious little furball!"

"Oh, crumpets."

Shaking his head, though he was relieved to have an excuse to ditch her, Teddy hurried to make his way over to where a Ravenclaw was clutching his lower leg while Noir hissed like crazy at him, the cat's body language making it clear that the cat might just go for the kid's eyes next.

Grabbing Noir before he did that Teddy held his bad kitty against his chest while he started to apologize and ask how badly the boy was hurt.

"It wasn't your cat's fault, he was being an arse."

Turning his head Teddy gave Lisbeth, one of James's friends on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, a questioning look. She was abrasive, hot tempered and prone to kicking arses and then ask questions, but he knew her to be brutally honest and generally fair unless she felt provoked.

"That arsehole was crowding that girl there in, harassing her. I was on my way to bloody him myself when your cat took care of him. Nicely done, You." Lisbeth flicked a finger in Noir's direction, winking at the cat who just yawned in her direction to show his disdain for her opinion.

Looking over at the girl Lisbeth had to be referring to, Teddy noticed a couple things right off the bat. One was the fact that she obviously wanted to be anywhere but where she was, the second was that her school colors indicated she was a Slytherin. Which also explained why, when her eyes finally met his, hers were filled with cool defiance. Even if the boy had been harassing her she wasn't going to tell him, Head Boy or not. He wasn't a member of her house and that was that.

So all he asked was if she was alright, the girl nodding once before giving him a look that silently enquired as to whether or not he was going to make an issue of this.

"Go on to class then, I'll deal with him."

While the girl beat a hasty retreat the Ravenclaw started to whine that Lisbeth was lying and that he never touched that snotty little Slytherin. And, with a finger pointed in Noir's direction, that nasty little beast ought to be put down.

"You calling me a liar?" Eyes narrowing Lisbeth took a step closer, the Ravenclaw noticeably paling as he backed up a little.

Last year there had been an incident involving Lisbeth's Beater Bat and a fifth year's family jewels. Since then the male population had been treating her with the utmost respect and caution.

"You can head out, I got this." Teddy told her, doing his best not to smirk when she deliberately took another threatening step towards the Ravenclaw to make him squeak like a corner moused faced with a lion, which he sort of was, and then with a smirk or her own Lisbeth sauntered off to no doubt terrorize someone else or stick her nose where it didn't necessarily belong.

Once she was gone Teddy got the bitter and reluctant Ravenclaw's name and year, and after a moment's consideration delivered a punishment that had the Ravenclaw muttering that blood did tell before stomping off, trying to appear more collected than he actually was.

Watching the little arse go, he'd keep an eye on him and talk to the prefects for that house about him, Teddy waited until the boy was out of sight before he turned his attention to the cat in his arms. Noir was looking back at him, and seemed really pleased with himself.

Shifting his hold so that he was holding the cat under its arms so that they were face to face, Teddy grinned at him. "So first you help that little first year yesterday, and just now you came to the defence of another girl who you also don't know, I'm guessing. Does Noir have a chivalrous streak, I'm wondering?"

Noir gave him a look that reminded Teddy of his own grandmother's death glare. Huh, the cat had only been with them a little while and Noir already glared like he was a member of the Black family. It was also a little weird really, having a cat who could so oddly remind him of his grandmother at times.

"So, if I let you go are you going to go off and sin no more? Or do I need to take you back to our room for a time out?"

Now he got his grandmother's 'Do you want to be punished' look. This was getting creepy.

Shaking his head Teddy crouched down and then set the cat back on his feet, his voice gentle but firm as he asked Noir to do his best not to maim or cause major blood loss for the rest of the day, though the whole school term would be great too if Noir could manage it.

Rather than answer, he was a cat so of course he couldn't, Noir deliberately yawned in his direction again.

"Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say. Go forth and sin no more, Kitty Cat."

But Noir didn't move, and in fact wasn't even looking at him. No, Noir was looking over his shoulder, and that made Teddy rise to his feet and turn around to see what had his persnickety feline's attention now.

A blond boy he didn't recognize stood there, blushing a little as he bashfully gestured towards Noir. "I didn't mean to stare, I just very much like cats. You take good care of him, he is very-I don't know the English word for it, pardonne."

Smiling, Teddy informed the boy in fluent French that it wasn't a problem at all. Learning a new language wasn't easy, especially the older you got. French was the only other language he spoke, and that was only because he'd grown up in a family with an aunt who was very French and happy to teach him along with her own children.

Beaming right back the boy stated how happy he was to meet someone here who spoke French too. His name was Casper Binoche, and he hoped that they could be friends.

Taking the offered hand Teddy quite happily introduced himself, always happy to make a new friend as well.


	4. A Heroic Deed

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know if this idea interests you as I know it's weird.

A Heroic Deed

By the end of his first week at Hogwarts Teddy felt like he'd known Casper for years. The other teenager fit right in with his group, and Teddy was pretty sure that the only two individuals at Hogwarts he was close to who didn't like the boy were his and Allan's cats. Both felines avoided, hissed, or just made faces at Casper to the best of their feline abilities. Which was odd since Casper was making such an effort to win them over, but neither could be swayed even when bribed with the possibility of salmon. And Noir freaking loved salmon. Of course Noir also pretty much hated everybody, which he'd explained to Casper, but Allan's cat Siam was fairly even tempered and didn't seem to actively dislike anyone but Casper. It was just plain weird.

It didn't help either that every time he noted the cats treatment of Casper he kept hearing Hagrid in his head, talking about how animals were very sensitive, and often sensed badness in a person's heart before people did. But that was just batty, as Casper was a complete and total sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a bloody fly. As it was he'd had to step in a time or two when one of the school bullies had thought to try and lean on the little blond when they thought no one was around to stop them. So yeah, Hagrid's voice was doubly annoying because he knew that couldn't be it but he couldn't help thinking it either.

Even though Hagrid liked Casper too.

"Why the long face?"

Looking over in Allan's direction, Teddy's tone was wry as he stated that Allan would think him mental for thinking it.

"We're all a little mental, Teddy. Think how horribly boring we would all be if we weren't."

Laughing, Teddy had to agree with that, swiping a hand through his hair, which was turquoise today. "It's just…the way our cats behave around Casper. It would make absolute sense if just Noir was freaking out over him, but your cat is too. Do you think they sense something that we don't?"

"That's not mental to think about. It occurred to me too. But Casper…I really wish Siam would get along with him."

Seeing the blush that streaked across his best friend's cheeks, one of the major downsides of being a redhead, Teddy felt a clutch in his gut at the idea that Allan might fancy being more than friends with just Casper. Because, well, he sorta fancied the new exchange student too. He wasn't his normal type, not physically, anyway, but he was just so sweet and adorable and…and bros before hos as the Yanks put it, even if Casper wasn't a ho and technically he and Allan weren't brothers. If Casper showed an interest in Allan he'd just suck it up and expect his friend to do the same if he caught the other teenager's eye instead.

Or maybe just to be on the safe side he should just outright ask Allan what he thought and then if need be they could swear an oath not to date Casper regardless because no guy was worth their friendship. Right?

Opening his mouth to casually ask, Teddy ended up calling over to James and Seth instead, the two running past them and down the hallway at a rather dangerous speed, most likely late for class. "Oi, you two, watch where you're going or you're going to mow down some poor first year!"

Both James and Seth put on the brakes and turned to salute him cockily, the latter sending him a flirtatious grin that Teddy opted to ignore.

"Oi back, Teddy. Your cat's running too."

Looking in the direction the currently speed walking James was pointing towards, it took Teddy a few moments to even spot Noir, the cat was weaving in and out of people at a speed that was rather dizzying to watch. Teddy felt like he might get whiplash just trying to keep the furball in his sights.

Then Noir was coming to an actual skidding halt, the cat pawing at James's trouser pant leg insistently.

"Well that's weird." Seth stated as he looked down at the cat. "I thought you said the cat was psycho. Though then again, he is acting a little barmy, isn't he?"

"It is psycho. What does it want? Maybe it's rabid."

"Maybe Timmy's fallen down the well." Seth joked, explaining that it was a Muggle joke when James gave him a weird look, Teddy and Allan just as out to sea as they came up to join the two. On arrival Noir immediately switched to pawing and generally acting crazy in what seemed like a really strange attempt to get Teddy's attention now.

"What is up with you, huh?" Crouching down Teddy was about to pick the cat up when his unusually sensitive nose picked up a familiar scent. "Do any of you smell…blood?"

Feeling a sense of dread Teddy started running his hands over Noir's front legs, paling noticeable when his hands came away smeared with blood after making contact with the cat's paws. "You're hurt."

Taking advantage of the fact that Teddy had let his paws go in surprise Noir gave him a pointed look and then took off running back the way he'd come, though they all noticed when the black cat stopped to look back at them, glaring at them and jerking its head as if to say that they had better hurry up or else.

"I don't think he's the one who's hurt." Allan said slowly, his voice laced with a growing dread. "Not the way he's running on those paws."

All four boys coming to the most logical conclusion, which was that Noir had most likely stepped in blood somewhere, they looked at each other and remembering Noir's behavior took off running too, yelling at people to get out of their way as they started chasing after Teddy's cat. Most likely someone had spilled some bottled blood meant to be used in Potions, they tried to tell each other…but none of them believed it.

James caught up with Noir first, the boy scooping the cat up into his arms and then telling Noir to just point which way they needed to go. That that would get them to wherever the hell they were going faster. And that's just what Noir did, holding out either a left or right paw, or simply gesturing forward with a nod of his head. They went through seven hallways and then started down a short flight of stairs, James yelling for Teddy to send a Patronus requesting medical help ASAP, the Gryffindor the first to see the grisly sight that awaited them.

Trusting his godbrother Teddy stopped and turned to do exactly that while the other three quickly closed the gap between them and the crumpled, still body of a young girl, Allan's cat standing guard at her side.

)

Grateful when James set him down, though the Gryffindor could have been more gentle about it, Regulus joined Siam in moving out of the way as the three boys crowded in to check on the girl. For himself Regulus could see that her chest still rose and fell, though her breathing was even more raggedy, and Siam informed him, when he asked, that her heart beat was notably sluggish, though still beating which was the main thing. Approving when Allan took off his robes to put over her, though he was pretty sure the girl was already in shock anyway, Regulus asked the other cat if she'd woken up while he was gone.

"No. Completely unresponsive. I bit her and she didn't react at all." Siam looked over at him, his face and voice as cool and impassive as always. "You were fast."

They'd agreed that he should be the one to go for help, he knew the castle much better than Siam, and though his heart was beating hard Regulus felt like he might be in danger of heart trouble, he also had to admit that he was feeling good too. The girl wasn't from his house, she was from Gryffindor judging by the colors she wore, but it felt good to do something. To make a difference, after spending the week trying unsuccessfully to make Teddy wary of Casper. That Casper was currently numero uno in terms of being a suspect in this made it that much more important that he get through the Hufflepuff's thick skull.

As it was, the only reason they'd come down here in the first place was because Siam had been shadowing Casper at night and this was one of the places he'd seen their target visit. If memory served, and Regulus had always prided himself on having an excellent one, this particular area rarely had any foot traffic since it was used primarily for storage. Ergo the boy's interest in it had piqued their interest.

Perfect place to dump a body if one wanted to delay it being found, as opposed to disposing of it properly. Though the girl was still alive, not dead at this point. Hopefully, she'd stay that way.

"Any sign of what exactly was done to her?" He hadn't stuck around to examine the girl once they'd found her. Getting help had been more important.

"I don't know. The visible cuts on her body aren't nearly deep enough to do serious damage. I would guess torture, though not for very long. From the way the blood's dried she's been here since early morning. She's in a coma…it should be interesting to find out what she remembers if she lives. Of course if it was me I'd have either killed her or insured that her memories were either missing or too degraded for her to remember anything of use. But our prey isn't that smart, so perhaps we'll get lucky."

Siam was one cold blooded bastard, Regulus would give him that. Thank Merlin the arse was on his side.

Turning his attention back to the boys, Teddy having made the trio a quartet again, Regulus saw that all four of them had removed their robes and had laid her out on two of them to keep the chill of the stone floor from doing more damage than it already had. The other two robes were placed over her and James and Teddy were conjuring up bandages to wrap up the girl's arms and legs while Seth talked to her soothingly and Allan kept track of her vital signs. That they were all horrified at what they'd found was etched on their faces, but they weren't the sort to lose it in a crisis either.

Regulus approved, even if James was too much like his namesake, and the Ravenclaw boy was a Mudblood. They were being useful to Teddy and the girl at the moment, and that was what was important.

Finally the sound of pounding footsteps on the stone stairs reached all their ears, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey soon rushing over, demanding to know who the girl was and what had happened.

"Her name's Essie Fawley. She's a third year in our house." Allan told their Headmistress before turning his attention the school's healer, rhyming off everything he knew about her injuries before joining the other boys in getting out of the way so that Pomfrey could do her thing.

"How did you find her here in the first place? You should all be in class right now!"

"It was the cat, Teddy's cat." Seth blurted out, pointing in said cat's direction for emphasis. "He came running up to James and I like something was very wrong, and then Teddy came over and saw that it had blood on its paws. We chased after it and it led us here. Allan's cat was with her too." He tacked on, having glanced in Regulus's direction and taken notice of Siam beside him.

"Thank Merlin they came down here for the mice." Not even wanting to think of what might have happened to the girl if the cats hadn't stumbled upon Miss. Fawley, or been intelligent enough to go for help, McGonagall informed the two cat owners that both felines would be handsomely rewarded at dinner tonight before she started grilling on them on how it had looked when the boys had arrived, everything they could remember, and everyone they'd passed in the hallway on the way here.

What went unsaid, but everyone was thinking, was that Essie hadn't had an unfortunately accident. This had been a very deliberate attack and someone in the castle was responsible for it.

"It's safe to move her." Pomfrey announced, getting to her feet with a grave look on her face. "We need to get her to St. Mungo as soon as possible, Minerva."

"Yes. Boys, take your cats and head back upstairs. You'll all need to clean up, I'll inform your teachers why you missed the current period. I'll expect you all to be in your next classes though, understand?"

All four nodded, knowing better than to argue.

)

The majority of the student body hadn't known or known much about Essie Fawley, but by the time supper rolled around everyone knew everything there was to know about the brown haired, blue eyed thirteen year old. She was the only child of Sullivan and Tulla Fawley, a quiet, average girl that had mostly faded into the background in her house and classes, but was liked well enough by those who did know her. The reason why anyone would attack her…that was the one question no one had an answer too. No one was taking credit for the attack, naturally, and there had been nothing left at the scene to implicate anyone. It was terrifying to think some crazy psycho was currently roaming the halls, and a great many of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws gave the Slytherin table dark or fearful looks. After all…it had to be one of THEM, didn't it?

For their part the Slytherins glared back defiantly, though there were a few who looked fearful too, or stared down at their plates rather than meet anyone's hostile glare.

Regulus was offended on behalf of his house, and would have at least growled a little at the idiots at the Hufflepuff table if not for the fact that he'd been given half a salmon to eat as a reward for the part he'd played in helping out the Fawley girl. It wasn't polite to open one's mouth while one was eating after all.

The mood was definitely dark and depressed during the meal though, not even the fact that the non Slytherin houses had all received a good amount of points due to the heroics of the girl's human rescuers enough to cheer anyone up even a little. Fawley was in a coma, there was a crazy person loose in the castle, and no one had any idea who that someone was.

With Professor McGonagall's words of caution still ringing in their ears, hers was a voice that stayed with you the more commanding it was, all the students eventually made their way out of the Great Hall that night, no one walking alone on the way back to their dormitories. Even the loners were sticking close to other groups, no one wanting to be caught alone in any of the many hallways that made up Hogwarts.

Not having much of an appetite, not to mention the fact that he'd been harassed for details about what had happened since word had gotten out about the attack, Teddy escaped into his room as soon as he could with Noir, the cat purring away in his arms. Noir had really, really enjoyed all that salmon.

"And you earned it, Mate." Lowering his head Teddy pressed a firm kiss against the top of the cat's head, a little amused when the gesture had Noir tipping back his head a little to give him a considering look through narrowed eyes before dismissing him. That was Noir his cat for you.

Setting Noir on the bed Teddy left him there for the moment and turned his attention to undressing, not caring that it was still early to be turning in. He'd write a letter to his grandmother assuring him that he was just fine and would be very careful, and then turn in for the night. If he was lucky he'd be out for the count before his roommates stopped gossiping in the common room and came looking for him to go over it all once again. For what would feel like the millionth time.

Once dressed in loose trousers and an old T-shirt his grandmother was constantly telling him he needed to throw in the trash, Teddy turned back towards his bed, not at all surprised to see that Noir was curled up on the bedspread with his back very pointedly to him. Noir, after all, never watched him doing anything personal, especially if that something involved him shedding clothing. Not that he didn't appreciate the cat respecting his privacy so to speak…but it really was just one more thing that made Noir weird.

Smiling in Noir's direction, the cat having gotten to his feet now to watch him, Teddy retrieved his ink, quill, and some parchment before setting the items on his bedside table. That done he maneuvered the covers up enough that he could slide under them with his back pressed against his headboard, leaning over to retrieve his stuff and a book he'd been reading to use as a writing surface. In moments Noir was under the covers too, pressed up against Teddy's side with only the feline's head visible above the fabric.

Weirdest cat ever.

And giving his weird cat a good scratch behind the ears since Noir had earned it, Teddy made a mental note to inform his grandmother that people wouldn't currently be calling him a hero at the moment if not for Noir.

Who'd have thought it?


	5. A Matter of Opinion

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

A Matter of Opinion

Arriving at their planned meeting place a full ten minutes early, Regulus wasn't even that surprised to find that Siam was already there waiting for him. Even if he came twenty minutes early the other spirit would probably be here before him because Siam was just like that. It felt like the other cat was always ten steps ahead of him, Regulus mentally fumed, seeming to understand events and people with the flick of his tail. Nothing seemed to surprise the other cat, and people were open books as far as Siam was concerned. In truth Regulus was surprised that Siam had thought he would need any help with this mission, though he was beginning to think that the other cat saw him more as his assistant at best, though lackey was probably closer to the truth. Which was not a role Regulus intended to let himself be regulated to if he could help it.

Good manners had Regulus greeting Siam politely enough, the cat inclining his head and responding just as cordially, the fact that they were both from a time and families where good manners were paramount was obvious in their otherwise cool manner towards each other.

"Anything new to report?"

"No. I've made a mental note of who I see him interacting with, and his manner towards them, but none are sticking in my mind as possible targets."

Siam nodded in agreement. "And the Slytherins are making a point to avoid causing any trouble least their actions be perceived as proof that they're the one who hurt the girl. This is probably the most peaceful this school has been in quite a while if one discounts the overall fear of the population."

That Siam wasn't wrong was disconcerting, not to mention annoying. Though not nearly as annoying at the fact that, surprise, surprise, his house was being blamed for this whole mess despite zero proof that they were remotely involved. Personally Regulus couldn't wait until they found a way to expose the fact that it had been a Gryffindor all along. That would teach the lot of them what house produced the most mentally unstable individuals.

"Do you have anything to report on your end?" Regulus wanted to know, wanting to end the meeting as soon as possible. Not that he had anything better to do, per say, but he'd find something.

"No, but there is something we need to discuss. About our people."

"What about them?" Siam's person Allan was tolerable for a Gryffindor, though that was basically because the boy was so smart he made everyone else look like idiots, which amused him.

"I believe that Binoche is attempting to seduce both of them in order to both gain their cooperation and cloud their judgement where he's concerned. They both appear to be losing their heads over him, and while their strong bonds of friendship seem to be holding for the moment it's only a matter of time before hormones get the better of them. For the time being Binoche appears undecided as to which one he will focus his attention on, but that could be deliberate as well. He might intend to alienate them from each other, as they would constitute a much stronger defense together than they do divided."

It was on the tip of Regulus's tongue to agree that Teddy had terrible taste in men, but the man was family which meant that while he could criticize the boy from sunrise to sunset that was his privilege alone. So instead he asked which goal Siam thought Binoche had at the moment concerning their boys.

"Too early to judge. Allan would be the logical choice, but there are considerable benefits to having a Metamorphmagus in your ranks."

"Why would Allan be the most logical choice?"

"Because he's superior to your person in every way."

Fur literally standing up at the insult of that statement, there was definite hiss in Regulus's voice now as he made his opinion of that statement very clear. "Your time in Gryffindor has obviously decreased your intelligence to a significant degree if you think your person is in ANY way superior to Teddy. Even with his regrettable werewolf genes and Hufflepuff status."

"You don't see Lupin's failings because you're blinded by family loyalty. You refuse to admit he's not ideal because of that."

"And you're apparently blind to the fact that Teddy is far better looking in both face and form in comparison. Teenagers are all about looks, Old Man." Regulus had no idea how old Siam had been when he'd passed away, but he was betting the other cat had lived quite a bit longer than he had. Most did.

"The fact that he's a Metamorphmagus invalidates that statement. He's not good looking, he simply has a magical ability that tricks people into thinking he's more attractive than he, in reality, is."

"For your information he only alters his hair most for the time because he likes it being ridiculous colors. ALL the men in our family are born extremely attractive! And even if he was only average looking, he would still be better looking than that pale string bean you're taking care of! Especially with that horrible red hair."

The feral look that came into Siam's eyes then actually had Regulus fighting the urge to take a step back.

"He. Is. Beautiful." The cat bit off the words, a hint of claws now visible. "You're just too stupid to appreciate someone of his brilliance. Really, it's no surprise that you ended up dead so young. That you survived as long as you did was either a miracle, or the fates simply taking pity on a fool."

A thought occurring to Regulus then, he tipped his head to the side as he regarding Siam more closely. "He's not related to you, is he? Your connection is romantic. Is he your soulmate?"

"I believe I made it clear earlier that I have no intention of discussing my past or my connection to Allan. All you need to understand is that there is literally nothing I will not do to keep him safe and get out of my current form."

"Fine then. So I assume you've come to the same conclusion I have about how we should go about preventing our target from becoming romantically involved with your person."

Siam's eyes narrowed to slits as he demanded an explanation.

"Well if your Allan is as attractive as you seem to think he is, than it should be no problem for us to find someone else for him to date. We'll just have to play matchmaker."

"Try it, and your soul will cease to exist before the night is over."

Oh yeah, definitely a romantic interest. And one who was already on edge about the fact that Allan fancied Binoche, since normally it was nowhere near this easy to get under the other cat's fur. How he could use the knowledge to his advantage Regulus didn't know yet, but it might prove useful later. If nothing else it just felt bloody good to be on the offensive instead of the defensive for once where Siam was concerned.

"Perhaps instead of worrying about my person you should be concentrating on your own person. Strange that he doesn't have someone given how appealing you think he is."

Rather than take offense Regulus smirked. "He has plenty of admirers, I'll have you know. We Blacks don't waste our time on just anyone, you know. And I'm fine with Teddy being foolish enough to be a little smitten by Binoche since that will set Victoire Weasley against him. If he turns her against him Binoche will find himself with an equally popular adversary who fights dirty. That girl is determined to have Teddy, and I would lay odds Teddy's lack of romantic attachments has a great deal to do with that girl's interference."

"She does have a great deal of sway when it comes to the male population of the school."

"Exactly. She hasn't realized that Teddy is interested in Binoche, but when she does I'm predicting she'll do all my work there for me."

"Then we have nothing to worry about." Siam's tone broke no argument. "Allan's far too intelligent to be taken in by Binoche for long, and the Weasley girl will protect Lupin for you."

"You do realize that being book smart doesn't necessarily make one people smart, don't you? Just because your Allan is indisputably first in his year academically doesn't mean he knows how to handle himself romantically. Actually, in my experience, it's the unusually brilliant ones that are the most inept in social matters, because their intelligence sets them apart and makes it difficult for them to interact socially with their peers, especially the popular ones." Especially when they weren't rich or had looks to make them more appealing, as in Allan's case.

"Binoche isn't his type."

About to argue with that, since obviously that wasn't the case, Regulus opened and then closed his mouth. "Do you think Binoche might be using some magical means to endear himself to them?"

Interest flashing in Siam's eyes, the cat considered the idea for a moment. "I can't think of any way he could affect so many people all at once…but it is something I will think and consider."

"As will I."

)

The second attack took place nearly a week later, the victim a fifth year boy from Ravenclaw. Arthur Travers was found by the Fat Friar in the same state that Fawley had been discovered in, the site of the attack another rarely used hallway where immediate detection was unlikely. But the ghosts had offered to act as hall monitors and the boy had gotten lucky. After being discovered he was transported to St Mungo where the first victim still resided in the coma she had yet to wake up from. As before there was no clues left behind to suggest who had done this terrible thing, or even why the boy might have been targeted in the first place.

For his part Teddy was torn between worrying that something would happen to one of his own charges and the growing worry that someone would do something stupid. Everyone was on edge, that was obvious, and he was really worried that very soon someone was going to take 'justice' into their own hands or hurt someone accidentally because they were jumping at every shadow.

He was especially worried that a Slytherin would be unjustly blamed and attacked, as everyone seemed to be assuming that the culprit had to come from that house. But Teddy didn't believe in stereotyping that way, and wasn't about to focus all his attentions on the Slytherin portion of the population. Even if his list of possible suspects did have a disproportionate amount of Slytherin on it, at least when compared to those from the other houses.

And wanting to get some info about how things were in Slytherin at the moment, the prefects from the house had refused to cooperate when he'd tried to talk to them about it earlier in the week, Teddy gave a note to one of his third years and asked him to pass it along to a Slytherin Teddy was fairly sure would talk to him. Or would at least show up at an assigned time just because she had better manners than to stand him up the way most of them would.

By lunchtime that Saturday Teddy did get an annoyed visit from one of his cousins because of the note in question, Fred demanding to know why Teddy was trying to make time with his girlfriend. That had amused him on a number of levels, not the least of which was the fact that Gabrielle Goyle was not Fred's girlfriend except in the boy's head. The boy had been chasing after her since they were in kindergarten together, and while she tolerate his great love for her pretty well, she also thought Fred was an annoying pain in her arse most of the time.

Especially in the last year, Teddy thought ruefully, as Gabrielle had developed faster than all the other girls in her year and was now very well endowed in certain areas. And while the first few punches she'd thrown Fred's way had mostly broken the boy's habit of staring at her breasts, they did still make Fred stammer like a complete idiot sometimes.

Thankfully, for the sake of Fred's health, Gabrielle was so used to his reactions by now that she either ignored them or provoked them just to be mean.

But yeah, not wanting to hurt Fred's feelings Teddy had reassured his cousin that no, he wasn't putting the moves on the four years younger than he was Slytherin. He'd even promised to put in a good word for Fred if the opportunity arouse, which pacified said cousin for the most part.

Going with him to his meeting was Noir, though that hadn't been a planned thing. His cat had just shown up out of nowhere as he'd headed off to the assigned meeting place. Noir had been sticking close to him since the first attack, and liking this protective version of his cat Teddy had let his pet tag along instead of try to talk the cat out of coming. Especially since odds were Noir wouldn't have listened to him anyway. Besides, company was nice and Teddy talked to the cat the whole way, picking Noir up and placing the cat on his lap for lots of petting once he'd taken a seat on the bench below the painting he'd mentioned in his note.

"You'll like Gabrielle." Teddy told Noir as they waited for the girl to arrive. "She's very nice even though she can be rather prickly at times. She's very tough too, because her twin older brothers are just like their father and grandfather. All brawn and no brains. Gabrielle takes after her mother's side, thankfully."

"So that's your infamous cat, hmm?"

Both Teddy and Noir looked in the girl's direction as she walked towards them, Teddy calling out a hello as he got to his feet with Noir in his arms, hoping that she hadn't taken offense to his comment about the men in her family. Not that she didn't think that of her own family from what he'd observed, but family was family and he didn't want to be on Gabrielle's bad side either.

Luck was with him though, especially since Noir designed to let Gabrielle pet him before they took their seats on the bench, Gabrielle getting straight to the point by asking him why he'd wanted to talk to her. And it better not be about Fred or she was leaving.

"Not at all, I promise. I actually wanted your opinion on what's going on. I know that most people are pointing their fingers in your house's direction, and I wanted to make sure you guys aren't suffering in silence so to speak. Not that you normally would." Teddy added, reading her expression correctly. "But retaliating would put a bull's-eye on that Slytherin's back and right now that's the last thing anyone would want."

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders, though there was worry in her eyes. "So far it's all just talk. I haven't heard of any serious altercations. I just hope the bastard responsible for this is caught soon before someone does something stupid."

"You and me both."

"If you're looking into this you need to be careful, you know that right?"

Surprised, Teddy raised an eyebrow in Gabrielle's direction, which had the third year rolling her eyes at him.

"Come on, think about it, Lupin. The latest kid was a Ravenclaw, and from what I hear he had common sense too. Who in their right mind would go out in the early morning by themselves, especially after what happened to that Gryffindor? According to the boy's roommates he went to bed like normal, nothing amiss, and then he wasn't there when they woke up. Whoever this is, he or she has a way to get to us even in our BEDS. And frankly, despite the example your godfather set, people who take on incredibly evil people when they're just a teenager usually don't meet good ends."

"There's every reason to believe that Essie and Arthur will recover at any time."

"Yeah, which is bloody suspicious too."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean who goes to all this trouble and doesn't really do anything? I mean yes, they're hurt, and one has to assume that that's what this sick bastard wants, but why isn't there more damage? Why are the physical wounds relatively minor? The majority of the damage was mental, or at least one has to assume that's why they aren't waking up."

Opening his mouth Teddy promptly closed it again, having not thought about it that way before. Because if causing pain was what made this sicko happy then why wasn't there more damage to the bodies? At that time of day there wouldn't be a high chance of being interrupted, and if the person was going to risk the consequences of what they were doing wouldn't they make the most of every victim he or she had?

"Huh."

"Exactly. Personally Flint and I, we talked about it a bit, we think that this is some diversionary tactic, or a prequel to whatever this is really about."

It was completely off topic, but Teddy had to ask for Fred's sake. "You and Flint are just friends, right?"

The look Gabrielle aimed in his direction spoke volumes.

"Right. Sorry. More important things to talk about."

"Aren't you going to ask me if I have any suspects?"

"You'd have told me if you did." Teddy pointed out. "But…?"

"No. There are a couple of people I can think of who I'd say were capable of doing this to another person, and likely innocent ones at that…but…there has to be a reason those two were chosen, and once we know that…" Again she trailed off, though her eyes sharpened after a moment's pause. "And you should keep an eye on that new exchange student too. Nobody knows anything about him after all."

"Casper? He wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Yeah…I never really got that saying." Was Gabrielle's cool reply. "Because let's face it…we all swat flies. Some just enjoy it more than others."


	6. Bros Before Blonds

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.

Bros Before Blonds

It had been five weeks since the first attack, another Ravenclaw found the week before to bring the total number of victims up to three. All were currently in St, Mungo's in comas, and the healers had yet to find some way to wake the children up. There had been a lull between the second and third victim, long enough that some had hoped that it would end at just the two, but then Silas Selwyn had been found. Signaling that no, this wasn't over yet.

Having not for a minute really considered that it would end with the two, Teddy had enough Black in him that being that optimistic when it came to this sort of darkness was just beyond him, the Hufflepuff continued to look for clues or something that tied the victims together without any success. And that, to say the least, frustrated the hell out of him.

So consumed was he with the question of who this latest villain was, that Teddy didn't stop to think about why Casper would ask him to meet him in private that Saturday. He just said yes, set the time, and then showed up a few minutes before the designated time because being late was rude unless it was unavoidable. It didn't even occur to him that he should be wary of meeting someone in private, not when that person was Casper, no matter what Gabrielle thought.

Yes, the idea was quite laughable, Teddy thought to himself when he saw that the blond was already waiting for him, the teenager shyly raising a hand in greeting with the most adorable flush to his cheeks. Frankly he'd been so wrapped up in what was going on that he'd sort of forgotten that he'd started to rather fancy the new Gryffindor, though now that fact was front and center in his mind, as well as the realization that they were alone and could Casper have asked him here because…oh.

Feeling his cheeks heat up a little too, Teddy found himself almost tongue tied as he said hello, suddenly wishing that he'd taken the time to make sure that his hair wasn't a complete mess thanks to the brisk fall breeze.

"Thanks for coming all this way like I asked. I probably should have picked somewhere inside, out of this wind but…" Trailing off Casper blushed again, staring down at his feet.

"Oh, don't worry about that, though next time you might want to pick somewhere where there'll be more people around. Just in case. I should have said something before but I had other things on my mind and wasn't thinking clearly." Well aware that he was in danger of babbling like an idiot, and since when was he such an idiot in these sorts of situations, Teddy ordered himself to shut up and not jump to any conclusions about why Casper had wanted to talk to him.

Shuffling the feet he was staring down at for a bit, Casper final looked up, his lashes hiding a great deal of his eyes from view as he spoke, his French accent heavier than usual. "I asked you to come because…because I wanted to know if you would like to…if you would go out with me?"

Flattered, and tempted to say yes to a surprising degree, Teddy couldn't help but hesitate as he remembered two very important things he needed to consider before he answered Casper's question. The first was that he'd been so wrapped up in the attacks that he'd never gotten around to talking to Allan about his best mate's feelings where Casper was concerned, and also the fact that Victoire would eat Casper alive if Teddy were to agree to go out with him. Casper definitely wasn't strong enough to take her on, and Victoire had a history of scaring off anyone who was interested in him in record time. Normally he was only attracted to strong-willed individuals too, so this attraction he felt for Casper a definite abbreviation, and really he should-

Lips suddenly pressing against his own in a kiss that was nowhere near as shy as the other boy's earlier behavior, complete with Casper having a pretty good grip on his shoulders, Teddy momentarily forgot what he'd been thinking about moments before. His teenage mind very happy to be kissed, especially since it had been a distressingly long time since the last time he'd snogged anyone, Teddy let himself enjoy the quality of the kissing even though in some small corner of his brain he still remembered all the reasons why he really shouldn't be doing this.

At least there were no fireworks or instant lust, Teddy's mind helpful added, that would have made-

Thoughts interrupted by the sound of someone else making a sound of surprise, Teddy broke away and looked in the direction of said noise, immediately feeling lower than dirt when he saw that it was Allan standing a short distance away from them. And while most people wouldn't see the surprise or hurt in his best friend's eyes, Teddy wasn't most, and he knew all of the redhead's tells.

"Sorry for interrupting, you two. I'll…talk to you later, Teddy."

Spinning on his heels Allan sped walked away, his long legs and eagerness to get the hell out of there aiding him in disappearing from sight by the time Teddy processed the extremeness of his crimes.

"Shit!"

Coming back to himself, his only thought to go after Allan and apologize, Teddy started forward only to be jerked by his arm into staying, Casper having a surprisingly strong grip as he looked at him all liquid eyed and questioningly. Probably the boy had no idea how Allan felt about him, Teddy surmised, and it wasn't his place to tell him either. But he did need to turn the boy down properly, otherwise there'd just be more confusion later.

"Sorry, but I have to go after Allan. And I really like you, a lot, Casper, but I'm afraid I can't go out with you. But I'm sure you won't have a problem finding someone else, and I hope that we can still be friends."

"You…you're turning me down?"

The way Casper gaped at him, Teddy wondered if he was the first guy to ever turn the boy down. Ouch. Maybe they wouldn't be able to stay friends. The first person to turn you down tended to leave a scar, or at least that was how it normally worked. Victoire still hadn't accepted the fact that he'd rejected her yet even though he'd been doing so since they were kids.

"Look, I'm not…I'm really sorry to run off like this, and if you want to talk about this later we can, but I really can't date you. Sorry."

Giving the other boy another apologetic look Teddy pulled his arm out of Casper's grip and took off running after Allan, his best mate way more important than the teenager he was leaving behind however heartless that sort of sounded even in his own mind.

And it was because he was so focused on finding Allan, his back to Casper, that Teddy completely missed the chilling, dangerous look that had come into the other teenager's eyes.

)

Thankfully the advantage Allan's longer legs gave him was something Teddy was able to make up for with stamina and athleticism. Because while Allan was fast when it came to short distances the other boy tended to get winded quickly, while Teddy was just plain fast and highly motivated in this case. So he managed to catch up to his friend just as Allan was within a few feet of one of the doors leading into the castle, the Hufflepuff calling out for Allan to hold on and wait for him. The conversation they needed to have would go better and easier without an audience.

Perhaps thinking the same, though Teddy visibly saw the other teen's shoulders stoop a little, Allan stopped and then started walking towards him with what the redhead probably meant to be a mild curious, 'what could we possibly have to talk about' sort of expression.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you and Casper. Hagrid mentioned seeing you leaving out this way when I asked if he'd seen you anywhere and I…I just wanted to tell you that Eddie's got himself a nasty cold and can't do his prefect patrols tonight. I can't take the shift because I'm tutoring. But I could ask the others, especially since we can't let Carrick patrol alone given what's been happening."

Wondering if he'd been babbling like this earlier, Merlin but he hoped not, Teddy reached out and put his hands on Allan's thin shoulders, giving them a squeeze to insure he had the other teen's complete attention. "I'm not dating Casper. He completely surprised me with that kiss and I've been kicking myself since I got out here for not realizing why he asked me to meet him in the first place." A pause. "But more importantly I'm sorry I hurt you. You know I'd never do that deliberately, right?"

"Hurt me? What are you talking about?"

"Oh shove it, Wimbledon. I know you fancy him. I'm not blind. And if you want to ask him out I turned him don't properly just now. He's not worth losing a friend over, above and beyond the fact that we have zero chemistry together." And okay, that last part was a bit of an exaggeration, but still…it was for a good cause.

A moment of hope, and then Allan's eyes dimmed a little as he shook his head. "No…he'd never be interested in me. If you are interested in him, and turned him down because of me, you should go see if you can mend things. It's fine, really."

Moving his right hand off Allan's shoulder Teddy flicked the spot middle of the redhead's forehead, just above the teen's glasses. "None of that, you idiot. Any bloke would be lucky to have you, and if you aren't Casper's type then that's his loss. And I don't want to be with him, and that's my finally-oh shit! I just left him alone out there. What if something happens to him!"

Equally concerned Allan stated that the should go back and make sure Casper got back to the castle okay, the two immediately jogging off in the direction that they'd just come. Trying to lighten the mood a little Teddy pointed out that it was probably for the best that neither one of them was going to date Casper since their cats both hated the other teenager. Merlin only knew what the cats would do to Casper if they had to see him on a regular basis.

Laughing, Allan resorted that he supposed he should just be glad that his interest in Casper meant that he was finally evolving enough that he wasn't just attracted to heartbreaking bad boys anymore. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

"You and your love of bad boy blonds." Teddy smirked, winking at Allan to soften the words.

"Well blonds are more fun, you know."

"Yeah…Victoire's put me off them for life."

Both laughing now, which wasn't exactly a good thing in Allan's case since he was already getting winded, luck proved to be with them, the two spotting Casper from a distance as the other teenager approached another of the doors that led into Hogwarts.

Sensing them too Casper looked in their direction, raising a hand in acknowledgement before continuing on his way.

"Should I take that to mean there's a chance we might be friends even though I basically rejected him and then ran?" Teddy asked Allan, both of them watching until Casper was inside the castle and therefore safe from whatever psycho was currently roaming around Hogwarts. Unless the bastard in question was lurking inside, waiting for someone to walk the hallways alone. Crap.

It took Allan a moment to catch his breath, but when he did it was to say that he was sure that Casper would be fine with just being friends once he'd had a couple days to get over being turned down. Even if Teddy should have been more polite about it, a note of censor coming into Allan's voice then.

"Well sorry for putting you before him. Not like you're my bestest mate or anything."

"Best friends forever." Allan agreed, his face lighting up with his words.

And then the two headed off to subtly follow after Casper, just to make sure that nothing happened to the blond since it was the least they could do. Especially after they'd both surely ruined the boy's day at the very least.

)

"-so we walk behind him until we were all in a fairly busy hallway, and he didn't seem really upset or anything at lunch or dinner. Though Allan and the cousins mentioned that Casper was more quiet than usual today. I feel bad about it, obviously, but at the end of the day there was really nothing I could do, right? I mean Allan is my best mate, and Casper might be cute and all, but not worth losing Allan over. Though between you and me I'm glad that that kiss was nothing special so that turning him down wasn't as hard as it could have been." Winking as he said it, Teddy stroked a hand down Regulus's back, the cat currently sprawled over his stomach.

Since he would have been unable to verbally chew the boy out for his gross stupidity if Teddy had behaved otherwise, Regulus was indeed thankful things had gone the way they had. Plus now he could rub it in Siam's face that Binoche had picked Teddy over Allan, just as he'd told the other cat the blond would do. One always preferred a Black, even if so few were worthy of them.

Regulus purred just thinking about it, not even minding when Teddy misunderstood the sound as Regulus's way of asking for more stroking. Not that more petting was a bad thing in this case either, the last 'living' Black heir quite content to be petted and bask in the inherit superiority of his bloodline.

"Well aren't you in a good mood. Though you've been behaving pretty well since we got here, haven't you?" Handing shifting Teddy began to rub Regulus's ears, which had the Slytherin all but spasming in delight as he purred like mad in spite of himself. "You're behaving, school is going well, and Allan and I've got the Casper thing sorted out. Now if only I could figure out who the hell is going around Hogwarts hurting people and this year would be going pretty good."

'I've tried to tell you who's doing it, you oblivious git', Regulus thought to himself, perturbed as always that Teddy had yet to figure things out. Really, he shuddered to think of the trouble Teddy must have gotten into before he'd been around to protect the boy from himself.

Though he and Siam had yet to figure out what the victims had in common, either, and that was a thorn in both of their paws. There had to be a connection after all, this couldn't be random. These kids were being specifically targeted for some reason, and the sooner they figured that out the sooner they could predict who would be next and hopefully catch Binoche in the act or find some way to communicate it to one of their owners. Probably Allan, Regulus was willing to admit to himself grudgingly. The redhead was the more observant and intellectual of the two.

Unfortunately.

)

It was at the stroke of three that her eyes opened on cue, hands moving to throw aside covers even as the mind within the body struggled to understand what was going on. Because there was no reason to be up, least of all from a dead sleep, and while she'd never walked in her sleep to the best of her knowledge, she was pretty sure that that wasn't why she was currently walking barefoot towards the door that would lead out of her dorm room. She was in her nightgown still too, and even as she told herself that it was just a need to visit the loo, or that this was just a really weird dream that she'd snap out of soon enough…she knew that wasn't the case.

She walked by the loo as if in a trance, and when she tried to move her hand to pinch herself she couldn't. It felt like her hand was weighed down, the effort to move it ever so slightly taking too much effort. But she had her wand, she realized then, having long been in the habit of having it in hand under her pillow in case her brothers decided to prank her during the night. Plus with what had been going on recently it only made sense to…

Oh no.

She was next. She was the next victim. That was why she was moving against her will. That was why she couldn't stop herself, and why the last two victims had wandered out into those deserted hallways so early in the morning even knowing what could happen to them. They hadn't had any choice in the matter, unable to stop or scream for help, her own throat closing up as she tried and failed to get some sort of sound out of her throat.

Terror cooling her blood, threatening to wipe her mind clean, the girl struggled to remain calm, to try and think of how she could get help as her eyes saw the Common Room ahead of her, signaling the fact that very shortly she'd be walking out of that room too and then…then she'd be away from her housemates and any chance that they could save her, armed with nothing but a wand she couldn't use. Wait a minute…

Glancing down, able to do that much, she judged the angle of the wand she still held as her arms natural swung a little at her sides, realizing that if she could move the wand ever so slightly, she could point the end at herself. And while she'd never done a nonverbal spell before, it was supposed to be all about meaning it, right? She'd mean it with every fiber of her being.

Teeth grinching she concentrated everything she had on trying to move her wrist, sweat broke out over her body with the effort she was exerting as she mentally screamed at her muscles to obey her.

And then it was as good as it was going to get, her bare feet about to leave carpet as her moment came and she screamed the spell as loud and forcefully as she could in her head, the end of her wand delivering the stun as ordered.

Jerking as it hit, her whole body seizing up, Gabrielle Goyle had a moment to be thankful before she crashed to the floor in an unconscious heap, wand still in hand.


	7. Emotional Trauma

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know if this idea interests you as I know it's weird.

Note: Just so my readers know, I'm on vacation next week, so there won't be any posts!

Emotional Trauma

Waking up to the feel of soft paws smacking him in the face with growing impatience, stupid pets who didn't realize that he liked to sleep as much as they did sometimes, Teddy somewhat bad-temperedly blinked his eyes open and lowered his chin to look ahead with the intent of death glaring his cat, able to make out Noir's shape before the cat nimbly leapt off his chest and turned to look in the direction of…Minerva McGonagall? What the….?

Jerking up to a sitting position, and instinctively pulling up his covers because it wasn't like he wanted her to see his morning wood or his pajamas, Teddy stared at her sleepily, as it took a moment before the reason why she might be there registered in his still half asleep brain. Sleep forgotten, all the color drained from Teddy's face as he croaked out the question.

"My grandmother?"

"No, Teddy, that's not why I'm here." He couldn't see his headmistress well in the dim light of the bedroom, but her voice was unusually understanding and kind. "I need you to get dressed and come with me, though. I'll explain on the way."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Knowing that whatever was going on had to be big, Teddy pushed back his covers without a thought now, the sound of her walking away and then the door opening reaching his ears as his headmistress left to give him privacy to change. But even that knowledge was secondary as Teddy hastily threw on whatever clothes his fingers encountered first, fashion being the least of his concerns as he tried to figure out what was going on.

Most likely someone else had been hurt, this time from his house. If this was about something that had happened outside the school, like someone else close to him being hurt or dead, she'd have sounded more upset as his family was practically the Wizarding World's family at this point. And she was close to a number of them, so that went double for her. Or so Teddy told himself, as he desperately clung to the idea that it couldn't possibly be someone important to him who'd been hurt. He couldn't possibly have lost someone else.

Sitting on his bed to put on his shoes, his legs feeling a little shaky at the moment, Teddy said nothing when Noir climbed onto his thigh and then put his front paws on Teddy's chest, lifting one paw up to pat him insistently. It was the cat's way of ordering him to let him ride on his shoulder, and rather than argue Teddy put the cat where he wanted to be, and then finishing with his laces quickly hurried to the door and out again, finding the school's headmistress in the Hufflepuff Common Room.

"Come." Motioning to him to follow with a wave of her hand, Teddy did so without question, waiting with bated breath for the words they both knew were coming.

"There was another attack last night. Or at least that's how we're treating it right now. It was very different from the previous three, but I believe they must be connected."

"Who was it?"

A telling little pause, and then she glanced over in his direction with a look on her face that made Teddy's stomach clench that much more.

"Gabrielle Goyle."

The two words hitting him like a physical blow, Teddy just stared at her in silence as he pictured the tough, fierce Slytherin who would have fought tooth and nail against anyone stupid enough to attack her. And Gabrielle would most certainly have had more sense than to go out on her own late at night…and while Teddy wouldn't say she was a friend, Gabrielle was still seen as sort of part of the family because….because of Fred.

That was why their headmistress had come to get him. She must have decided to break procedure about what was going on so that he'd be there when Fred was informed. Before everyone else knew so that no one else would be around to see his cousin utterly devastated by the news. McGonagall knew what Gabrielle meant to Fred, and while there were plenty of cousins in Gryffindor she could have woken up to be there for him, Teddy was unquestionably the best option if he did say so himself. And McGonagall was fond of Fred, even if he did drive her a little mad sometimes with his Weasley antics.

"We're going to Gryffindor tower."

"Yes. Miss. Goyle's already been removed from the school, her brothers went with her." A shake of her head. "They seemed genuinely upset about her being attacked, though I have a feeling that was more because they see an attack on her as an attack on their family. They'll possibly be trouble when they get back."

Given that Gabrielle's twin brothers were two of the biggest arseholes Teddy had ever had the displeasure of meeting, Teddy was inclined to agree that they'd be that much more insufferable if they actually tried to find the person who'd attacked their sister. Especially since they didn't have the brains to figure it out in the first place.

And knowing that planning what he would say to Fred was useless, and hell, the boy would probably be so upset he wouldn't hear him anyway, Teddy forced himself to be practical and asked his headmistress what was different about this attack, and where Gabrielle had been found.

"She was found in the Slytherin Common Room by Mr. Flint. Apparently he's trying to master a new move on his broom, and he's been getting up just before six to head out and gets some practice in before breakfast every morning this week. He stumbled across her on his way out, and thankfully kept his head enough to immediately pick her up and rush her to Madam Pomfrey."

"She was found in her Common Room?" That would suggest that odds were the attacker really was in Slytherin. Of the four houses, the door to Slytherin was one of the hardest to find, even if you knew what you were supposed to be looking for.

"Yes. It would appear now that the intended victims are under a compulsion of some sort, forced to leave their rooms and meet up with the perpetrator somewhere in the castle against their wills. I believe that Miss. Goyle realized what was happening, and was either able to overcome the compulsion long enough to grab her wand, or she already had it in her hand when she left her room. According to the study I made of her wand, she most likely stunned herself in the hopes of preventing her body from leaving the safety of her dormitory."

"So she wasn't harmed aside from that?" Thank Merlin for that. At least she hadn't been tortured, Teddy thought when she nodded, especially if the victims were essentially being imprisoned in their own bodies while they were being assaulted. For someone as strong-willed and fierce as Gabrielle, that would have been torture in and of itself.

"She slipped into some sort of coma, similar to what the others are in, but Madam Pomfrey is guardedly optimistic that by studying Miss. Goyle the healers at St Mungo will have a better chance at helping the other victims, as well as hopefully helping Miss. Goyle as well." A pause. "She's strong, both mentally and physically. I have every confidence she'll recover."

Agreeing with her, Gabrielle had been tough and smart enough to stun herself to save herself after all, Teddy lapsed into silence, matching his strides to his headmistress's as he silently turned his attention to trying to figure out where Gabrielle fit in all this.

The person responsible for this wasn't sticking to a gender, age, or physical appearance. House apparently didn't matter, which might help ease some of the tension between Slytherin and the other houses, though Teddy wasn't about to hold his breath there. Of all the victims Gabrielle was the one he would claim to know the best, but even then…

He didn't have a fucking clue who he was looking for. And more people were going to get hurt if he didn't figure it out.

)

Regulus watched with interested eyes as Fred Weasley was delivered what was, apparently, an agonizing blow. The boy had started off trying to talk about everything under the sun when he'd first come down after being summoned, the Gryffindor intelligent enough to know that he was about to get bad news. And when Teddy and McGonagall refused to let him have his way, and had told the Weasley boy why they were there, the boy had slipped immediately into denial, convinced that they must be mistaken because Elle was just too tough and strong to have been hurt. A person would have to be utterly mental to take her on, really, so they had to be wrong. But eventually the truth in their stares had sunk in, and it was then that the crying had started, which was completely unmanly, and Regulus would have told the boy so if he'd been able.

Instead he was stuck on the chair he'd been placed on, watching Teddy hug the boy with one one, the other hand stroking the Weasley's head while he reminded the boy over and over again that Gabrielle hadn't been tortured like the others, and would probably be awake and telling Fred off in no time.

At this point Regulus would have also pointed out that a Black did not make promises they didn't intend to keep to family, which he assumed this person was to Teddy given their previous interactions, but that too was impossible in his current form. Plus the boy technically wasn't Teddy's family, so lying and possibly giving the boy false hope was fine. Lying to others was pretty standard for them when it came to outsiders.

His sharp eyes picking up movement, Regulus kept his gaze trained on Siam now as he watched the other cat slink into the room and past the other occupants of the room. And hopping up to join Regulus on his chair, Siam got straight to the point, asking who in the boy's family had been attacked.

"Gabrielle Goyle."

"Oh. She seemed like a tolerable person."

Surprised at what was almost praise, Regulus would have raised his eyebrows if he'd had them. "I wasn't aware you'd made her acquaintance."

"She's been looking into the attacks as well. Though with a praiseworthy amount of tact and discretion that your person lacks."

"And yours as well."

The two shot each other dark looks before Regulus proposed the idea that she might have been targeted for that reason, and not because she fit the profile set by the other students.

"Possibly. Was anything learned at the scene this time?"

Feeling like an idiot for not telling the other 'man' about the oddities of this attack, but hiding it well in his own opinion, Regulus quickly summarized what he and Teddy had learned about Gabrielle's attack and the suppositions they could make now about their attacker.

"He's a coward." Was Siam's immediate response. "He doesn't even have the guts to lure them to him. He controls them, insures that they have no way to defend themselves, much less attack him, and then he causes them harm while they're helpless, like stabbing fish in a barrel." The cat called the person in question some names in Goblin, the creatures being famous for not only the creativity of their insults, but for having numerous wizard related insults that were mastery level in terms of multiple, grossly derogatory meanings.

Impressed as hell, Regulus just nodded in agreement.

Having got his tirade mostly out of his system from the looks of it, and who knew he was the sort to have one over something like this, Siam went back into his professional detached way, asking if McGonagall had mentioned how long the healers believed the compulsion had been sitting around in the girl's head, waiting to go off.

"No, but I'm sure I'll be able to find out at some point. McGonagall will obviously keep Teddy and his family appraised of her condition for the time being. That fact is bound to come out eventually."

Thinking to give Siam a few minutes to think things over, Regulus turned his attention back to the other three people in the room, noting that the Weasley boy had final gotten himself under control and had switched to anger and a desire to kill whoever had hurt his girl.

That she was not his girl wasn't mentioned, thought the other two did tell the boy that he was not to go out looking for the person responsible. They would find the person that had done this and would see to it that he or she would be made to pay for their crimes, as was fitting.

"Well at least he's not crying anymore." Siam sniffed delicately. "What good does crying do?"

"Exactly. In our day a man acted like one."

The two felines shared a look of complete understanding and agreement.

They'd both known pain and loss after all. Far more than the boy in front of them had ever experienced in his short life. And they most certainly hadn't cried or asked for a hug from anyone. They'd shouldered their burdens like men, and had continued forward without ever revealing to anyone how deeply they suffered. That was what real wizards did.

No one had ever hugged Regulus except for his female relatives…and perhaps, maybe, when he was very young, Sirius had at some point. His brother had seemed to hug his friends and girlfriends easily enough when they'd been in school together. But Regulus's relations had hugged him because he was family and in greeting, not to comfort him. Blacks didn't comfort each other; they didn't need to. Blacks were tougher than that. Had to be.

"The fact that she was the next victim is interesting."

Regulus asked what Siam meant by that.

"Well everyone has been blaming your former house for the attacks. It seems, from my observations, that that is standard practice at this school. Blame the Weasleys for pranks and the Slytherins for more…sinister incidents. Since the attacks started everyone's focus has been on your house, insuring that those of the other houses weren't being considered as possible suspects. By attacking a Slytherin our target is losing that protection. Why? Did she know something that made her a potential threat to him, or was he unable to help himself where she was concerned for some reason? The fact that she was found in the Slytherin Common Room was an accident, he didn't expect her to be found there to incriminate her house since everyone seems to delude themselves into believing that only a member of that house can get into that dormitory."

Opening his mouth to confirm that Hufflepuff's dorms were ridiculous leas to get into, Regulus abruptly held his tongue, not trusting Siam enough to inform the other feline that getting to Teddy would be no hardship for him.

Instead Regulus pointed out that perhaps Binoche thought to create greater panic amongst the school's population by insuring that no one felt safe, including the Slytherins. His house's current occupants were taking some precautions, but that was more against the possibility of a vigilante coming at them, not a fear of being attacked by the latest threat to Hogwarts students.

"Perhaps. Or it could just be a case that he simply so stupid and arrogant that he doesn't realize that this move leave him more vulnerable."

"He's a Gryffindor. Arrogance and stupidity are required traits."

"So you've said, but then you're biased as well." Siam shook his head, his expression peeved. "You know your house best. How will they react to this attack on one of their own?"

"She doesn't appear to have bothered to make even tenuous connections with the majority of her fellow housemates. To the best of my knowledge I can't see them getting overly upset about the attack on one of their own, and the perceived danger they might be in now that it's been confirmed they might be targeted too doesn't matter, as they're already on their guards. They should know that it was only a matter of time before they were attacked by one or the other. At least I would have been preparing for that eventuality. I would imagine that they'll use this attack as proof that theyre not automatically the bad guys since one of theirs was attacked as well."

"Hmm. At this point only Hufflepuff and the faculty have been spared a victim."

"He's also choosing younger targets." Regulus pointed out. "Which is odd, now that I think about it. Wouldn't he want stronger targets? It stands to reason that he's deluding himself about his cowardice, and wouldn't he get a bigger thrill harming his obvious superiors?"

"That is a good point." Siam agreed, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully. "Either he's attacking the young because that is seen as a more heinous crime, or whatever compulsion spell or potion he's using wouldn't easily be administered to someone older and more magically aware. Though this would suggest it's an actual spell, as a potion wouldn't necessarily be hard to slip to anyone regardless of age or ability. A memory charm, perhaps, so that the individual doesn't remember being bespelled. Though if that's the case, why not just harm them then? Why wait?"

"We'll find out." Regulus refused to believe otherwise.

"Yes. But how many more will he get in the meantime?"

That was another question they didn't know the answer to, and both thought to themselves, for perhaps the millionth time, how much easier this would be if just killing Binoche wasn't against the rules they were operating under.

Stupid powers that be, making this so much more complicated than it needed to be.

Being goody two shoes sucked.


	8. Catty Talk

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Special thanks and a dedication to jadely31 for the excellent suggestion concerning McGonagall's ability to talk to the cats.

Catty Talk

Since it was Sunday there were no classes to worry about, and that being the case Teddy quickly alerted the rest of their family to the situation with Gabrielle and Fred. And once everyone was down and dressed Teddy suggested that they head down to the kitchens, round up some food, and then go outside for a picnic so that they could avoid the worst of the initial fallout and spare Fred that at the very least. Allan volunteered to go to breakfast since it would be a good idea to have someone there in case someone acted suspicious, and agreeing with that Teddy thanked him and arranged to meet later to discuss this latest development. McGonagall didn't question their ability to get into the kitchens, she was no fool, and instead settled for asking them to show more sense than their predecessors and keep her in the loop about anything they came up with. She'd rather they not just show up at her office bloody and battered after it was all over.

Teddy promised she'd be the first to know if he came up with a clue.

Thankfully, or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, the members of the Potter/Weasley/Lupin family were all well-schooled when it came to dealing with someone experiencing emotional pain. Even the youngest among them knew to tread carefully, and so they all spent the next few hours just being together while subtly reminding Fred that they were there for him and they were good for hugs or plans of unholy mayhem to unleash on the bastard who'd dared to attack one of their own.

Fred was appreciative, but too quiet.

But at least he wasn't crying anymore, which Regulus certainly appreciated. Plus no one had suggested handing him over to the boy to cuddle, which would not have ended well for anyone involved.

So yes, that he was left alone was for the best, and Regulus actually felt a very small spark of approval towards the boy when Fred asked Teddy if he would go with him back to the castle so that he could thank Flint properly for helping Gabrielle. Teddy could ask the Slytherin about the whole thing too, since he was investigating the attacks. Maybe Teddy would think of a question no one else had thought to ask Flint.

Agreeing that that was a good idea, because his Teddy was no fool, Regulus immediately moved in to climb up onto the boy's shoulder, allowing the Hufflepuff to help since they were in a hurry.

Leaving the others behind to pack stuff up the three of them headed back to the castle, Teddy using his patronus to track down the Slytherin they were looking for since it went without saying that without the Marauder's Map it would take forever to track Flint down in the castle. Especially on a Sunday. Luck was with them though, as they were directed away from the castle and in the direction of the Quidditch pitch, which of course made perfect sense given who they were looking for.

They found Flint sitting alone on the bleachers, the boy looking in their direction with a fierce expression of warning that switched into cool watchfulness when he saw who it was.

"Everyone wants to ask me about what happened, so I'm hiding out here."

Teddy's eyebrow rose. "Not really the best spot given your love of the game."

"Exactly. No one would think I would be stupid enough to pick such an obvious hiding place. It's working for me so far. Or it was until you two showed up."

Since he couldn't argue with that Teddy inclined his head and asked Flint if they could talk to him for a few minutes about what had happened. There wouldn't be much point in trying to get anything out of the Slytherin if he didn't want to talk after all, so better to be polite and upfront about it.

"It's fine. I'm sorry she was hurt. I like Gabrielle." Flint directed the words towards Fred, who'd been silent thus far. "She'll be fine, you know. She's a fighter."

"The toughest." Fred agreed, the boy clearing his throat hard. "I wanted to say thank you to you personally, for what you did. For helping her."

Flint shrugged the thanks off, which Regulus approved of one hundred percent. It was the Gryffindors who were all about soaking up praise and adulation, Slytherins didn't need that. They knew how much better they were without needing to be told.

"I was half asleep when I headed out; I'm not a morning person by nature. She was just lying on the ground with her wand in her hand, no signs of visible wounds. I picked her up and took her to the Medical Wing. I don't know what happened after that, McGonagall just came out and told me they were transferring her to St Mungos." Flint stared down at his hands for a moment before meeting Teddy's gaze again. "She wouldn't have left at night by herself. She wasn't stupid. I knew she was looking into what had happened a little, and I told her if need be I'd help her. Watch her back."

Trusting the Slytherin to keep it to himself Teddy told Flint what he knew, including the fact that they now believed the victims were put under a compulsion, which was why they were leaving their dorm rooms despite the danger.

Expression thoughtful, Flint mulled that over for a minute or two before nodding, stating that that made sense. Though it raised a number of questions as well, like how these people were having those compulsions placed on them in the first place.

"Working on that."

"You need to be careful too." Fred interjected quietly. "Whoever did this might blame you too, for the fact that things didn't go right last night. And if this bastard can get to Elle, he could get to you too."

"I'll borrow a Beater bat."

While Regulus agreed with the idea of beating Binoche's head in with a Beater's Bat Regulus also didn't like the idea of Flint being in possible danger. True Slytherins were in short supply these days. He didn't want anything to happen to one of the few he'd met since returning to this existence.

Just one more reason why he needed to hurry up and figure this mess out before it was too late.

)

It was three days after the attack on Gabrielle that Teddy received a letter in the mail that turned out to be from the Headmistress, the simple note requesting that he retrieve his cat if he hadn't brought Noir to breakfast with him, and then bring the feline to her office as soon as possible afterwards. She'd already spoken to his teacher about the class he'd be missing, and he wouldn't be penalized in any way if he wished to remain with the cat. Apparently Professor Jadely had pointed out to McGonagall that Noir and Allan's cat had been first on the scene of the first attack, and perhaps they knew something that would help in her investigation. As McGonagall was a cat animagi, she was the ideal person to speak to them.

Feeling like an idiot himself for not thinking of it himself, surely it would work, Teddy lifted Noir up off the bench and held the cat up in the direction of the head table so that the headmistress could see that he had his cat with him, the curt nod he got from her in return confirming that she'd seen them and would expect him at her office promptly.

Setting the not terribly impressed Noir back on the bench so that the cat could continue eating his breakfast, Teddy gave the feline's head a stroke before looking in the direction of the Gryffindor's table to try and catch Allan's eye. His friend seem absorbed in a book he was reading instead of eating his breakfast like he should have been, but Allan finally sensed his gaze and looked up, the questioning look his friend sent him making it clear that no, Allan hadn't noticed the mail that had been dropped in front of him at all.

Rolling his eyes Teddy held up his own letter and then jerked his chin in the teenager's direction, Allan thankfully getting the message as the redhead belatedly noticed the stationary in front of him. After a moment of mail flipping Allan held up an envelope identical to the one Teddy had gotten, Teddy nodding to signal that yes, that was the one he wanted Allan to look at.

Nodding in return Allan quickly opened the letter and read the contents, the look he sent in Teddy's direction making it clear that he was equally disgusted with himself for not thinking of this himself either. Giving his best mate a look in return that said he completely understood, the two shared rueful smile and then with a nod they both went back to what they'd been doing with a great deal more optimism and hope regarding the possibility that they might have some much needed answers before lunch time. It was about time they got a break, after all.

And with that to look forward to Teddy ate a much heartier breakfast than what he'd been eating the past week or so, and then scooping Noir up into his arms he walked a short distance down the table before stopping to ask a friend of his to take notes for him, as he'd be missing his first class. Luckily Maggie was happy to help him out, and with much thanks and promise to help her with her Transfiguration homework later Teddy left the Great Hall with Noir perched on his shoulder.

Heading straight for the Headmistress's office Teddy took a seat on the bench near the office entrance, knowing that she wouldn't be there yet. Instead he waited, not surprised when she came into view less than five minutes later.

"Headmistress." Getting to his feet Teddy nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Teddy." Inclining her head in return McGonagall ordered her door opened before starting up the revealed staircase, speaking to him as she did so. "As Mr. Wimbledon does not have a habit of bringing his cat with him to meals he'll have to go and retrieve his cat from the tower before coming here. That shouldn't be a problem though, as I'd rather interview one and then the other anyway. That way I can get both versions of their stories separately."

Having figured out what they intended to do Regulus would have told his former Transfiguration teacher that it was pointless for her to try and interrogate him or Siam, but obviously he couldn't in their present states. She'd figure it out soon enough though. Or she'd think he was deliberately refusing to give her information, which would be annoying since Teddy would then think that he was doing it deliberately too. But there was really nothing he could do about that except hope that something clued her into the fact that he literally could not give her information. Or at least he was ninety eight percent sure that the powers that be had insured that not even a cat animagi could speak to him. Teddy had tried in his wolf form and had gotten nowhere with him. Teddy had believed he'd done that on purpose at first too.

And as if he could hear what Regulus was thinking Teddy informed the headmistress that he'd tried to have a conversation with Noir a few times over the summer while in his own animagi form, without success.

"You believe he'll refuse to speak to me as well?"

"Well that's just it, Headmistress, he opened his mouth and appeared to be trying to talk to me, but couldn't for some reason. My grandmother looked him over to see if he'd been bespelled in some way that prevented him from communicating, but found nothing to remove. But I'm sure that even if he can't help you, Siam will. And maybe Siam could even translate for Noir if need be."

"I've never met a cat I couldn't speak to."

Apparently deciding that it would be for the best if he didn't argue, which proved that Teddy was indeed wiser than his house would suggest, Teddy didn't contradict his headmistress and remained quiet until they were in the woman's office and she was telling him to put Noir on the floor.

"Yes, Headmistress."

Set down on the ground, Regulus decided to sit properly, his tail swaying ever so slightly as he waited for her to transform so that she could fail to talk to him. And then Siam. And wouldn't that just put her Gryffindor tail in a bloody knot.

As he watched she came to stand in front of him, and then in one smooth move transformed into the cat form he recalled from his days of having her as a Transfiguration teacher. It was still somewhat impressive, though less so now that he was stuck in a cat's body.

"Hello, Noir."

"Hello, Headmistress McGonagall." Or that's what he tried to say to her, but from her expression Regulus was sure he was speaking nothing but gibberish, if that.

She kept trying to talk to him though, right up until a knock came that signaled that Allan had no doubt arrived with Siam. Then she transformed back into her human self to tell him to enter, informing Teddy with some annoyance in her voice that he had been correct, she'd gotten not a word from his cat.

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault. You did warn me."

"I'm sure you'll have better luck with Siam."

She didn't have better luck with Siam.

And yes, it angered her QUITE a LOT.

)

"It really is a pity that that didn't work." Siam commented as they walked side by side down the deserted hallway, their 'owners' having trusted that they could take care of themselves and had headed for their next class after being dismissed by McGonagall. "Not that I thought it would, the powers that be would have foreseen and prevented the possibility of us talking to an animagi no matter how rare they are. Though now we have a problem; you heard her mention the fact that she might have us looked over by professionals. That could be very annoying, especially if it means us being taken from the castle. Getting back here would be most time consuming."

"We'd find a way."

"That goes without saying. In my case, at least."

Letting the insult go, he was getting used to it and wasn't about to risk losing his chance at a new life by killing the insulting furball, Regulus said nothing. Siam might yet prove to have some use after all, since there was no denying the other man's brilliant mind. Plus the other man was the only one he had to talk to at the moment, and Regulus could admit, if only to himself, that he desired having someone to converse with. He'd never needed anyone in the past, and would someday be able to say that again…but for now things were different.

"If we do end up being sent to London, we should make a point of visiting Gabrielle. We might be able to figure out what was done to her."

Siam nodded in agreement. "I have no doubt I would stand a better chance than most healers of properly identifying what was done to her."

"Perhaps we should arrange to go to St Mungos then."

"No. I will not leave Allan unprotected. Until we can be sure he doesn't fit whatever criteria Binoche has for his victims I will not willingly leave Allan open to attack. He doesn't recognize the threat Binoche poses him, currently."

"Especially since your Allan fancies him."

"I believe I've made it clear that you weren't to mention that in my presence, especially since it's a temporary phase, and one that most teenagers seem to go through."

Regulus snorted as he stated that he'd never gone through a phase where he'd find someone like Casper Binoche remotely attractive.

"Nor did I. But I expect we were both raised quite differently from the average teenager living within these walls currently. And not just because we were born in other time periods."

"Were you born into a family that was seen as consisting of dark wizards?"

Quiet for a moment, Siam considered the question carefully before surprising Regulus with an actual answer. "Parts of my family would have been classified that way, yes. The others, well most were just very good at hiding the aspects of their characters that the wizarding population as a whole would not have approved of. And yes, in my day I was viewed as badly as you were before your heroic self-sacrifice came to light."

Wanting more information, but not wanting to be obvious about it, Regulus tried to keep on topic while shifting the focus a little. "I hardly recognize the world we're living in now. I would imagine that a number of my ancestors would think that it was for the best that my line has all but died out, rather than have our descendants fall in line with the way the world is now."

"Certainly not the way I would have shaped it. Though most would probably agree that that was for the best. Even I would agree, looking back."

"I'm surprised you'd say that."

"Only a fool doesn't admit when he's wrong. One can't learn from one's mistakes if he refuses to see them as such. And this time around everything will be different."

Okay, he didn't like the sound of that. "Are you implying that you plan to take over the world if we're successful and you secure a human body for yourself again?" Because he had no intention of living in a world ruled by Siam. He'd prefer to be dead again, thank you very much.

"No. I've decided ruling the world is a pointless endeavor. I have other, more important plans."

Yes, he definitely didn't like the sound of that.


	9. What's In A Name

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think of it since I always love hearing from you guys.

What's In A Name

Stretched out on the second floor's windowsill he'd come to think of as his own, it was an excellent place to sunbath and think, Regulus all but purred with enjoyment as his black fur soaked up the heat from the rays of sunlight coming from outside. The day was unseasonably warm, and he had every intention of taking advantage of that fact for as long as possible. The Hufflepuff dormitories were underground after all, so he didn't get any natural sunlight down there. There hadn't been any in the Slytherin dormitories when Regulus had been a student either, which he hadn't been terribly fond of back then, but he'd put up with that since any other dorm would have meant belonging to another house. And Slytherin was where he'd belonged even if currently there was nowhere else he'd rather be than in the light, even if a pillow to sprawl out on would be nice.

And while it was extremely tempting to just relax and go to sleep Regulus refused to pass out, especially since he was out in the open and therefore unprotected if Binoche or any other psychopath roaming the school grounds decided to use him for target practice. Not to mention there was always Peeves to worry about. Merlin knew he'd always hated that damn poltergeist.

Allowing himself to take a minute or two to relish the idea of all the things he'd like to do to the trickster should the opportunity present itself, Regulus thought he would literally sacrifice limbs to be able to hold a wand again. So many of his present problems could be solved if only he had hands to work with. He was never, ever, taking them for granted if he succeeded and became a wizard again.

Blacks weren't the sort to wallow in wishful thinking though, and Regulus did have far more important things to think about then his lack of thumbs. Especially since his chance of regaining his human form would only rise if he could just figure out what Binoche's victims had in common.

What set them apart from everyone else? Why had Binoche chosen them, because Regulus was in complete agreement with Siam about it not being random no matter what some were thinking. There was something special about the students targeted and figuring out what that something was was the key to unlocking what the hell the exchange student was up to. He knew it in his gut.

Having already discarded all the usual factors he and Siam had come up with, Binoche didn't seem to have a preference for gender, physical appearance, or age aside from preferring them younger than older, so Regulus knew they had to think about less obvious possibilities. House didn't matter, nor did social class or how much Muggle blood they might have running through their veins. No Muggleborns targeted though, which was interesting, but that didn't necessarily mean anything given that the Mudbloods were in the minority anyway.

Essie Fawley. Arthur Travers. Silas Selwyn. Gabrielle Goyle.

Hell, at this point the only similarity he could find was that three of the four victims had a 'y' in their last name. And somehow Regulus doubted that that was it.

Flint might be next, or Teddy, or one of his friends for helping the victims. Or even someone that had seen or knew something and just hadn't realized it at yet. That was a possibility that would cloud the waters up soon enough, making it impossible for them to know whether the people in question would have been targeted otherwise.

Repeating the names over and over again in his head like that might jog something loose in his mind, because something about their names bugged him, it was only when Regulus shortened it to their last names that a feeling of knowing dread overtook him. And getting to his feet instinctively as he struggled to grab hold of the mental thread that would explain the gut feeling that the answer was now right in front of him, Regulus focused every thought he had on what he knew about those names.

Fawley. Travers. Selwyn. Goyle. Fawley. Travers. Selwyn. Goyle. Fawley. Travers. Selwyn. Goyle.

By all the fates and imagined deities!

The answer that came to Regulus hit like a shock of electricity through his body, his jaw dropping a little in shock as the idea of it went against years of belief and indoctrination. It was not the natural order of things, it was not what was done, and to his mind it was rather like hearing that mice had taken to hunting down cats in their spare time. It went against the lessons of history, the rules of their people, and should have been ludicrous to imagine, much less believe to be true.

But having spent weeks pondering what the victims could have in common without success, this was the only glaringly obvious link between them that he could see. And should have seen earlier, Regulus recognized, now that the answer was staring him in the face. But why was Binoche hunting the students for such a reason?

In a flash his mind made the leap, the true horror of what Binoche's end game might be hitting Regulus hard, knocking all the breath from his lungs all over again.

No. No. It could not be allowed. He would not stand for that to happen! Not when there were already so few of them!

Leaping off the window sill and onto the floor, Regulus ran like his life depended on it down the currently deserted hallway, his world having narrowed down to the thought that he needed to get to Teddy. The Hufflepuff should be in Potions class right now, and once he got there he would make the teenager take him to the library so that he could direct him to the book that would tell Teddy what connected the four victims. He couldn't talk to Teddy to tell him what he'd realized after all, but surely his descendant would be intelligent enough to realize what Regulus was trying to show him once he saw the book. Andromeda might be a blood traitor who'd turned her back on her family, but surely she'd educated Teddy about their lineage and their family tree regardless. Even just a basic understanding of it should be enough to clue the boy into why the book was important. What it revealed. The names were listed right there too and…and if Teddy couldn't figure it out then Allan would. Pride be damned about whose person figured it out first, as long as someone knew that was all that mattered at this point.

"Noir? That you?"

Screeching to a halt Regulus whipped around to see the Potter boy, James, walking towards him, a worried look on his Potter face.

"What's wrong? Is someone else hurt?"

Regulus waited until the redhead had crouched down to be closer to him and then he leapt up, nimbly running up the boy's body and not worrying about his claws as he got onto the Gryffindor's shoulder and then pointed his paw in the direction he wanted to go.

Thankfully the boy was simpleminded enough that he obeyed immediately.

)

Biting down on his bottom lip as he concentrated on stirring his potion the exact number of times required according to his textbook, Teddy did his best to block out everything around him which was no easy task. Especially since Rosemary was making a mess of her potion beside him. It had started to stink up the room, actually, and as soon as his stirring was done for the time being Teddy looked over to Allan, who was working on his other side. Together they shared a look that said 'why did she have to choose to sit by us this year', before they turned their attention back to their cauldrons. It was a tricky one after all.

It didn't help that his thoughts kept turning to that morning, when Fred had gotten yet another letter from Gabrielle's father informing him that no, the boy was not allowed to visit her in the hospital, and would be seen off the premises if he attempted such a thing without permission. Which, as this was the fifth rejection letter Fred had gotten on the subject, was not coming any time soon. Especially since this letter had concluded with the threat that Gabrielle's brothers would put Fred into a coma of his own if he didn't stop harassing them with requests to see Gabrielle. Aunt Angelina had tried to visit Gabrielle in her son's stead and she'd been refused entry too, the flowers she'd brought with her thrown out as well. All the flowers Fred tried to have delivered were tossed as soon as a member of Gabrielle's family saw them, or at least that's what the healers Angelina had talked to had told her.

In other words Teddy was seriously thinking about paying a quick visit to London that weekend just so that he could put Gabrielle's father in St. Mungo's for an extended stay.

So yeah, it was probably for the best that his maternal line was chocked full of potions makers, Teddy mused as he added some dragon's claw to the mix, because otherwise he'd probably have mucked the whole thing up and-

When the door to the classroom slammed open with a bang like cannon fire Teddy whirled around in nearly perfect tandem with Allan, his shock at the loud interruption compounded by the fact that it was James standing in the doorway, staring back at them with equal surprise.

"Mr. Potter?" The Potions teacher's voice made it clear that James better have one hell of a good excuse for bursting into the room the way he had, the Gryffindor's habit of pranks and getting in trouble no doubt playing into his ire.

James's cheeks went as red as his hair as he stuttered something about not realizing that there was a class going on, and that the cat had made him think someone was hurt again and that was why he'd come bursting in the way he had.

What cat James was referring to became obvious when Teddy felt his trouser leg being batted at, a glance down confirming that yes, it was indeed Noir trying to get his attention from the floor, a decidedly disgruntled hiss the cat's greeting.

"He was acting crazy, Teddy! Something's up! I think." By the end of the sentence it was obvious that James was becoming less and less confident that he hadn't been led on a wild goose chase.

Having leaned down to pick the naught feline up, and thinking to give the cat a good scolding for messing with James head just because the cat didn't like him, Teddy opened his mouth only to close it again, something about the look in his pet's eyes making him rethink the lecture. Noir was extremely intelligent after all, and this was no laughing matter.

With that in mind Teddy looked his pet straight in the eyes as he asked if something was wrong.

Noir nodded his head.

"Is someone hurt?"

The cat shook his head no.

"But I have to come with you right now?"

Another nod that was even more forceful than the first.

Going with his gut Teddy looked towards the front of the classroom, shifting his hold to cradle his cat against his chest as he addressed his teacher. "Professor, I apologize and I'll accept a failing mark for this assignment for not completing it. I need to go with my cat in case he's telling the truth and there's something I need to see."

"And I'm going with him." Allan announced, already moving towards the aisle with Teddy following after him without waiting for the professor's permission.

Thankfully their teacher was aware that Noir had helped find help the first victim and was willing to believe that whatever had brought Noir here to get Teddy might be of grave importance. So he told them that they were excused and wouldn't be penalized, both boys thanking him as they ran up the stairs to where James stood waiting for them. The younger boy was still red in the face, and James gave Noir an accusing look that made it clear that the cat was in for it if this was some elaborate hoax the cat had cooked up to amuse itself, just because it was as nasty as Teddy said he could be.

But Noir was ignoring the boy and pointing with his paw instead, making it clear which way he wanted them to go.

Figuring to hell with it, it wasn't like he could ask Noir what the hell was going on at this point, Teddy simply started jogging in the direction that Noir wanted them to go, the other two teens falling in behind him as they left the dungeons and headed upward.

"So exactly what happened, James?"

Hurrying up the stairs after him James explained about coming across Noir running down the hallway and the cat indicating he needed help getting somewhere. He was really sorry he'd interrupted their class and almost gotten them in trouble.

It wasn't much to go on, but the behavior was odd enough that Teddy assured James that he'd done the right thing helping Noir out before stating that if it was all a prank the cat would be stuck eating cat food again for the foreseeable future.

Noir's hiss echoed against the stone walls over that.

And since there really wasn't more to say until they knew what was going, especially since Allan was struggling to keep up with them as it was, none of the teenagers tried to talk as they reached the top of the stairs and took the next turn Noir indicated. At this point all they could do was go were directed as they desperately hope that whatever Noir wanted to show them wasn't going to be as bad as the last time he'd acted as guide to an unknown destination.

Thankfully wherever they were headed appeared to be on the first floor, as Noir motioned for them to ignore the stairs going up and instead directed them to…the library?

"What the hell?"

Ignoring James's outburst for the moment Teddy said to hell with it and hurried into the room full of books, following his cat's silent directions as he hoped desperately that Madam Pince wouldn't notice the cat in his arms and kick them out. Knowing her the fact that Noir might be leading them to an important clue might not be enough reason for her to overlook her 'no animals' rule unless McGonagall interceded on their behalf. Thankfully the librarian wasn't at her desk currently.

Arriving at a long bookshelf that was thankfully close by, Teddy kept his eyes peeled for some explanation as he followed Noir's paw motions until he was standing in front of a shelf that Noir was showing rapt interest in, the feline appearing to scan the shelves in search of something. Something he wasn't finding judging from the angry grumbles coming out of the cat's throat.

"Are you looking for a specific book?"

A nod.

"Maybe it's been loaned out then."

A shake of the cat's head this time, Noir straining his neck like he was trying to see the other shelves in the hopes that the book he was looking for would magically appear on one of them. But there was no sign of the book in question apparently, Teddy walking up and down the aisle on both sides, inspecting ever shelf with Noir in an apparently futile effort to find the book Noir was looking for.

James had a valid point too, when he stated that none of this made any sense because how would Noir know what book to look for. And really what could a book have to do with the attacks that had been going on in the first place.

"And this section is devoted to Runes and Ancient Languages." Allan panted out, having finally recovered enough to speak up. "The likelihood that anything here would…"

Teddy and James immediately gave Allan their full attention when the other boy's voice trailed off, both recognizing the look on his face to mean that Allan had thought of something. They just had to wait for him to clue them in because rushing him would get them nowhere.

"Follow me."

Turning around so fast his bright red braid went flying out to almost smack James across the face, Allan motioned for them to come as he ran back down the aisle and then deeper into the library, close to where they all knew the Restricted Section was located. They'd all visited it a time or two in their day.

But Allan stopped a couple aisles away from there, moving a quarter of the way in before squatting down and motioning for Teddy to bring Noir over.

Hurry over Teddy crouched down beside his best friend, holding Noir out towards the books in front of them as they waited to see what the cat would do.

A moment, and then Noir lunged forward, his paw stretched out and then smacking against an old, worn looking book spine.

Pulling out the book in question Allan immediately turned it so that the front cover was visible to all of them, James reading the title outloud from over Teddy's shoulder.

"The Pureblood Directory?"

"It lists the Sacred Twenty Eight." Allan informed them absently, having already moved to open the book up to its first page. "The twenty-eight British families that were still considered "truly pure-blood" in the 1930s, when it was published. The author is listed as anonymous, but it's widely believed that it was written by Cantankerus Nott."

"It figures your cat would be into that sort of book. Was probably a Slytherin in his last life."

Teddy hardly heard the comment, his mind having suddenly provided him with an explanation as to not only why he'd been feeling that he was missing something that should be obvious about the victims, but why the book Allan held was so important. A book he knew because not only had his grandmother told him about it, but also because many of the names that were listed there appeared often in their family tree.

"The victims. Their families should all be listed in that book. They all have a pureblood last name. That's the connection."


	10. Making Their Lists

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

Making Their Lists

"And so the hunters become the hunted."

McGonagall's voice sounded as worn down and weary as she looked for the moment. "There was some of this after each war, the victims calling out for the blood of those who'd hunted and killed their friends and families. Stripping them of their wealth and wands, sending them to Azkaban only appeased so many, and there were instances of vigilante justice. Both times the governments weren't strong enough to do their jobs, no surprise, and in those times there was never enough Aurors to keep everyone in line, but for the most part…for the most part justice was allowed to do its job. There were those on the winning side still strong enough to make sure of that. And now this. When people find out…"

Shaking her head over what was to come, McGonagall stared down at the pieces of parchment that were spread out over her desk. One held their first list, which was a listing of every student currently attending Hogwarts whose last name could be found among the Sacred Twenty Eight. Naturally there wasn't a student for every one of twenty eight, the pure-blooded families were dying out after all, and a great many of the witches and wizards who'd carried those names in the previous generations had ended up incarcerated or killed before they could pass on their names due to their involvement in the wars.

That being the case there was parchment with a list of all the children presently under the age of eleven with Pureblood last names they'd been able to think of, though they all knew that there had to be children they'd forgotten just because of the age gap. It was a weight that had them nauseated and praying that the person responsible for the attacks would continue to hunt among the school aged children, leaving the even more vulnerable children alone for the time being.

Lastly was a list of adults who, by virtue of the fact that there were no children of that line to be targeted, were also possible targets in the future. They'd listed both Teddy's grandmother and her sister under the Black family name, as they were the only ones living who at one time had represented one of the greatest pureblood families in England.

And if that wasn't bad enough, there was the fact that Teddy had had to write out the names of every Weasley cousin he had, from Victoire down to Hugo minutes before. They were all possible targets for the position of 'Weasley' victim.

James was just as pale over that, Teddy's godbrother's hand firmly in his, as it had been since James had finished writing down the first draft of the list of children under eleven since of the four of them in the room he was the youngest, and therefore closest to the age of those kids. McGonagall planned to consult the lists for future Hogwarts students to add to that list, but they'd wanted to get a rough draft started first, to give them some idea of how many names couldn't be found within the school and where the attacker would have to go looking outside of it if he or she meant to hit a member of every family.

"In at least half the cases the possible future targets are fairly obvious." It was Allan who spoke up in the silence that had followed McGonagall's statement. "And the adult targets like Neville Longbottom or Teddy's female relatives can handle themselves, especially since thus far our target has gone after students in their younger years."

"Nine Weasleys to choose from though, and that's just the kids. When this bastard gets to our family, I mean." James swallowed hard after saying it, the grip he had on Teddy's hand hard enough that his knuckles were white.

Squeezing back, Teddy kept his voice gentle but firm as he reminded James that they knew they'd be targeted now. And they'd make damn sure that nothing happened to them.

"Quite." McGonagall nodded her head definitively, the look in her eyes making it clear that she would see to that personally.

Reaching across the desk Allan picked up a blank piece of parchment, staring down at it like it offended him. "We have to figure out how to narrow things down further. We've narrowed down the potential targets, yes, but there has to be a way they're being picked. The order in which they're being attacked, perhaps, who he's going after from each family, this was planned out beforehand, remember? Everything makes that clear."

Wanting to help even though he couldn't think of anything he knew for sure, Teddy just spoke outloud, hoping that he'd say something that helped. "Whoever this is, he or she can't be going after them for not retaining their blood purity, so it probably is a case that this isn't trouble in their own ranks. I mean the others have some mixing, true, but Gabrielle Goyle is about as Pureblood as you can get on both sides. Unless we're assuming that she found out something that made her a liability, since we know she was looking into things. Plus it's…well does anyone else think it's weird that they're targeting purebloods, but not specifically the Slytherin ones?"

"No, that makes sense."

Everyone gave Allan questioning looks in response to that, McGonagall asking him to explain.

"If our target wants to destroy the Pureblood families…what better way than to turn the Wizarding World against the families they're most likely to suspect of harming their children? Just like when everyone was rallying around meting the harshest sentences and calling for death of war criminals after the wars. Everyone's been looking at the Slytherins since the first attack, expecting that only someone from that house could commit such a heinous crime. That feeling has only grown with each victim, and even with Gabrielle I've heard people speculate that she was attacked because of Fred's affection for her. And while she certainly has Slytherin characteristics she's also not part of the 'in crowd' for lack of a better word, so the deception that this is coming from that house is still unbroken. And could be true, if we're wrong about motivation here." Allan tacked that on as an afterthought, not about to commit to any speculation he wasn't a hundred percent sure of.

"The bastard was counting on us doing the dirty work for him. Or her." Clenching his jaw, Teddy really hoped that when the found who they were looking for the bastard turned out to be male. That way he wouldn't have even a twinge of conscience when he broke the fucker's face.

"That's the most logical explanation. It would have worked too."

Yeah, it would have. Which was bloody terrifying when they thought about it.

"Though…it could be a case of a Pureblood hunting those who aren't quite pure enough for them. It could just be a scare tactic even, to try and warn off those who aren't behaving 'pure' enough." His expression thoughtful, Allan tapped his fingers on the desk beside him as he worked it through in his mind. "It would be short sighted of us to jump to conclusions about who we're after here. Right now all we know is who's likely to be targeted."

"The really Pureblooded ones are pretty inbred at this point. And a lot of them are batshit crazy. I could see one of them-"

"James."

Wilting a little under his headmistress's hard gaze, James mumbled an apology for his language.

"I can tap my grandmother for some names there, of anyone from the old days she can think of who might do something like this and isn't behind bars. And I can ask Flint about anyone in his house or that he knows about. I think he'd help us."

Allan nodded in agreement. "So we need those lists, as well as lists of those students here whose families suffered losses in the previous wars that might drive them to this. I can start on those. That's the best we can do at the moment."

Agreeing with them, and stating that she'd make her own lists as well, McGonagall turned their attention to another important point they needed to cover. "Aside from the four of us and your cats, who else knows what we've found out?"

After discovering the book and what it meant Teddy had checked out the book in question and then they'd all left the library with it to head straight for McGonagall's office, picking up Siam along the way as Allan's cat had appeared out of nowhere and had insisted on coming with them. Now the cats sat together on a chair, silent spectators to the whole thing.

"Our potions teacher and class know that James and Noir interrupted us because something happened, but the only people that know what we discovered are in this room. As far as we know." Teddy tacked on, since the gossip grapevine in the school was not to be underestimated. All it would take was one person overhearing them from the next aisle over or Madam Pince commenting about the book Teddy had taken out to the wrong person. She'd certainly given him quite the look when she'd seen the book he was checking out, though it was possible her glare had been for Noir's presence in her library.

"I'll speak to them; just tell your fellow students that Teddy's cat led you on a wild goose chase. At least for now."

"But we'll find some way to protect the students here that will be on the hit list, right?"

"Yes, you have my word."

)

Regulus was feeling extremely smug and proud of himself, but since cats general looked that way Regulus was pretty sure that his enjoyment of showing up everyone weren't obvious to Siam. And he was making a point not to rub it in the other cat's face that he'd solved the puzzle of who Casper was after, no matter how tempting that was. They didn't know why yet, what drove the little bastard to dare to spill those of pureblood, but at least they had a better idea now as to where to focus their attention now. And that was all because HE had figured out what the victims had in common despite the fact that Siam had made numerous pointed remarks about how much smarter he and Allan were in comparison to him. Well he'd outthought both of them, hadn't he? Even if he had required Allan's help there at the end.

Which begged the question…how HAD Allan known where to look?

Obviously the shelving system had changed since he'd been a student, and really he should have anticipated that possibility given the amount of time that had passed, but how had Allan known what books had been shelved in that aisle decades before the boy had even been born? It made no sense. Or it didn't until it had occurred to Regulus that perhaps Allan was either like them, and had succeeded in his task to regain a human form, or that the boy was one of the few souls reincarnated with some memory of his previous life. Could that be how Siam knew him? In their previous life together?

"If its bloodlines he's obsessed with, we need to find out more about his."

Though he agreed with Siam's logic Regulus couldn't help but point out the obvious, which was the fact that they had no way of doing that. It wasn't like they could question Binoche about this, and getting their hands on the boy's file wouldn't give them much even if they could work out a way to manage it.

"We need to find out his mother's maiden name at the very least. She's British, and therefore odds are you'd recognize the family name unless she's a Muggleborn."

"I doubt he's from an old family; if he was there would be students here that would know him. He'd be related to some of those with pure blood last names for that matter."

"Or he is, and the family disowned his branch for some reason."

"They'd still know of him unless it happened a long time ago. This is too personal for it to be that old a wound."

Siam spoke with bone deep certainty. "Some wounds are too deep to heal, no matter how old they are."

Truer words.

"We can't discount the chance that he's related to one of the old families." As much as Regulus wished they could. "But in my gut I think he's coming from the other end. That his blood isn't pure and that's why he's hunting those who are."

If it was all twenty eight families Casper was after, odds were high that either he had Mudbloods in his tree or even the blood of some magical creature that had a form that could fornicate with their betters. Had been ostracized or punished for those impurities in their blood.

Putting that out there, Regulus watched Siam's eyes narrow thoughtfully.

"We did consider that possibility before, that he might be using magic practiced by non-wizards." Siam thoughtfully cocked his head. "We should revisit it once we've learned more about his kin. It's also possible that he's someone's puppet, and they're pulling his strings to do their dirty work for them. His parents, perhaps."

"His parents?"

"Many of us aren't brought into the world for love, Boy. We are created to serve them, and the line we were born into."

Since that pretty much summed up his own parents' reason for having children, or at least his father's reason for having a heir and a spare, Regulus didn't argue the point. At the end of the day it didn't matter what the boy's motivation for these attacks were unless someone was using the Imperius Curse on him, but Regulus didn't get that vibe from the little bitch. And the kid's age didn't excuse anything in Regulus's books, especially since he'd only been a little older than the boy himself when he'd chosen to die before dishonoring himself.

"We need to get his file."

"You said you couldn't get into them. That you tried and failed. You told me to not even bother trying."

The look Siam sent in his direction made it clear how he felt about being reminded of that.

Well tough, Regulus thought but didn't say. It was the truth.

And then they were both being scooped up into their person's arms, which Regulus didn't appreciate, but he allowed it as he squirmed a little to take his preferred position on Teddy's shoulder. Siam remained comfortable in Allan's arms, where he seemed to prefer to stay whenever possible.

"Time to head out, Noir. You did good today."

Enjoying the stroking he was getting, though doing his best to hide that fact thanks to the audience they had, Regulus focused on McGonagall, who was studying him so closely from across the room.

Now what was she thinking?

Siam noticed as well, the cat talking over to him as the headed out of the office. "McGonagall. How sure are you of her competency?"

It went against the grain, and rubbed his fur the wrong way, but Regulus answered honestly. "She's intelligent, driven, and she won't stop looking until she finds him. But she doesn't think outside the box enough, and I've seen nothing to indicate Binoche is even on her radar here."

"Then we need to find a way to point her in the right direction."

"Exactly."

)

Hours later, as Teddy carefully stowed away all the lists he'd been working on to make sure that no one would stumble across them accidentally, one of his roommates came in and headed straight for him, a folded piece of parchment in his hand. A hand that was holding the paper out towards him, Stephen's voice over the top dramatic as he asked just what trouble Teddy had got himself into, that he was getting a note from the Headmistress that had to be hand delivered to him.

Stephen's curiosity was obvious, especially after what had happened in potions, but Teddy played his part, shrugging his shoulders as he held out a hand to take the note in question from him.

And opening it up to read the message written there, Teddy honestly didn't know what to think of their headmistress's request. Why did she want him to bring Noir with him to dinner? And the spot they were supposed to meet up with her at, after the meal was over…it was a little out of the way and very close to a door that led outside the castle. What was up with that?

Teddy's Black instincts sparked with suspicion. "Did she actually give this to you personally?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Just checking."

It was her handwriting, he'd know it anywhere, and he'd make sure that people knew where he was, just in case. But still…it made Teddy's shoulder blades itch.

Belatedly remembering his manners, Teddy thanked Stephen for the delivery.

"So what's going on, then?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. She wants to meet me after dinner to talk about something, but she didn't give me a clue as to what about. You'll have to wait for tonight if you want more info."

Eyes narrowing, Stephen showed that he wasn't just a good looking face as he asked if that was why Teddy had asked about who had given him the note. If he thought this was some sort of trick.

"You said it was her, and I trust you. But I'll be careful. I'll go early to the Great Hall, signal her to make sure that she wrote the letter before going."

"Good idea. Want backup, just in case?"

"I'll be fine. But thanks, Mate."

Fist bumping, Teddy thanked him again and then turned around to retrieve his cat, who was waiting for him patiently on top of his bed, his tail twitching with a hint of agitation. Which didn't bode well for him, Teddy thought, even though Noir let him pick him up and settle him on his shoulder without a sound of protest.

Saying goodbye they left Stephen to unload the rest of his school stuff and headed out, Teddy filling Noir in on what the note said during the short walk from the Hufflepuff Common Room to the Great Hall. Silly of him, perhaps, but Teddy knew that there was far more to his cat than met the eye, and keeping him in the loop just made sense to him.

Frankl, he was just glad Noir was on his side in this. The cat would make one hell of an evil sidekick for someone.

Not that he'd say that outloud. Noir would not like the insinuation that he'd be anything other than the boss.


	11. Guardian Beasts

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think of it.

Guardian Beasts

Regulus was feeling rather proud of Teddy at the moment, not to mention terribly glad to see that beneath that sweet, nice guy Hufflepuff exterior, Teddy still possessed the instincts of a Black. Or at least the boy had enough of the family intelligence not to just take his roommate's word for it about the note being from McGonagall, and as planned the boy did signal her before dinner to make sure that she'd written the note with her nod the confirmation he and Teddy needed to worry a little less about what was coming. Regulus wasn't letting his guard down at all, of course, but the idea of Teddy being harmed in his presence had interrupted his sleep more than once recently and whatever the woman had planned, Regulus did trust her not to harm a hair on the boy's head.

But still…he was just a cat in this form after all; there was only so much he could do if she were actually a threat. And to fail one of few members of his family left, especially one as…worth saving as Teddy…well he could only hope that McGonagall had an update that would help them finish this once and for all, so that he could return to his former body. As himself he could protect Teddy properly, which he would do as Teddy was one of the last of his line. And very obviously needed a keeper. I mean really, who couldn't see that?

And since thinking about all the ways in which his charge was far too naïve and vulnerable for a Black made his head hurt, Regulus pointedly turned his attention to thinking about the possibility that this little get together had something to do with him and Siam, since their presence wasn't necessary if McGonagall just meant to update Teddy about anything she might have found out.

McGonagall wasn't stupid after all, she had to realize that the fact that she couldn't communicate with them meant that they were not ordinary cats. Plus he and Siam had been at one of the crime scenes, and he'd helped Teddy and Allan figure out what the victims had had in common. She'd be a complete fool not to wonder about them now.

After a brief discussion early on he and Siam had agreed that they'd allow her to cast spells to make sure that they weren't being controlled or were wizards in disguise, but they had both agreed that they wouldn't let her take them away from their boys either. Neither of them wanted to think about what trouble the two would get into without them, and they couldn't protect them if they were miles away.

Not that they didn't have contingency plans if that happened, of course they did, but neither of them wanted to waste that much of their magical stores getting back, especially since she'd just want to send them back all over again. They also couldn't do their boys much good if they came back exhausted and unable to move more than a few steps after all.

"Guess you aren't any hungrier than I am, huh?"

Looking up at Teddy, who normally ate more than any respectable boy should, even if he was still growing, Regulus was confused until he realized that Teddy just meant that they were both so mentally occupied that they couldn't concentrate on eating.

So Regulus nodded in agreement, which made Teddy smile at him. He really did have a stunning smile, Regulus mused to himself.

And accepting the stroke to his head just because he knew he should, taking one for the team as it were, Regulus waited until Teddy had turned his attention back to his plate before he turned his gaze down to the chicken Teddy had set down on the bench for him, telling himself that he better eat it since he might need his strength later. Though hopefully not.

)

A half an hour or so later Teddy apparently gave up on eating anymore, picking Regulus up and settling him onto his shoulder as per usual while he told everyone he was heading out. He'd already warned his roommates that he was meeting up with McGonagall so they wouldn't worry if they couldn't find him in the dormitories, and so with a wave he headed down the aisle towards the doors out, movement out of the corner of their eyes making both Teddy and Regulus turn their heads to see that Allan and Siam were copying them, the two nodding in their directions with serious expressions on their faces.

Waiting for the other two to catch up with them at the door, Teddy asked Allan if he'd been asked to bring Siam to a meeting with McGonagall as well.

"Yes. Did she tell you why?"

"No. You?"

Allan shook his head and then shrugged, suggesting that they might as well be on their way, since the sooner they spoke to her the sooner they'd know what was up.

As Teddy and Allan walked down the hallway the teenagers and the two cats talked to their crime fighting partner, Siam and Regulus speculating as to whether or not McGonagall would trust her own skills as a witch when it came to performing spells to make sure that they were in fact cats and not wizards in disguise. Personally Regulus was extremely insulted on his cousin's behalf if McGonagall actually thought that Andromeda hadn't done a thorough enough job making sure that he was safe for Teddy to keep. She'd done everything short of dissecting him. Andromeda was far more knowledgeable than McGonagall when it came to the Dark Arts that could be used for such an endeavor, Regulus informed Siam pompously, even if McGonagall had been Hogwarts' Transfiguration teacher for decades.

"I'll join you in being insulted if that hairy oaf is the one to examine us."

"Who?"

"The half giant the former headmaster of this school was so fond of. He was missing from dinner, and he does teach Care of Magical Creatures."

"Oh. Him." Shaking his head Regulus hissed a little at the very idea.

"If that's the case just let him look you over. Putting up a struggle will only complicate things for us later. We need them to trust us, not view us with suspicion."

"I know."

"Good."

Hating the vaguely insulting tone Siam had used, Regulus lapsed into silence as Allan and Teddy stood around waiting for McGonagall to arrive, the witch thankfully not making them wait long before she came striding down the hallway like a woman on a mission. Which didn't bode well for them given that she hardly looked at Teddy or Allan, Regulus noted, but gave both him and Siam pointed looks before greeting the two teenagers and thanking them for meeting her.

"No trouble." Both assured her, Teddy asking her why she'd asked them both to bring their cats.

"Because there's something very odd about them." Was her blunt, to the point answer as she came to a stop in front of them. "They were at the first crime scene, I can't communicate with either of them, and while I trust your grandmother when it comes to insuring that there were no spells placed on your cat, or that he is an Animagi, Teddy… I would still like to have them both looked over by someone else if that's all right with you. And afterwards, depending on what he says, I would like both your permission to perform some spells on them as well for my peace of mind."

While both Siam and Regulus accepted that they'd be stuck letting themselves be treated like oddities with annoyed resignation, Allan asked if the person they were going to see was Hagrid, as he'd noticed that he hadn't been at the teacher's table as per usual.

"No. A friend of his. Now if you'll both follow me." And so saying McGonagall walked around them, expecting them to follow her. Which of course Allan and Teddy did, all of them heading to the door leading outside and Siam and Regulus well aware of the looks both teenagers were sending their ways in the meantime.

Great, thanks for that, Professor, Regulus thought as he glared at the woman holding the door open for them until Teddy insisted on taking over the task. If he stops trusting me because of you I'm going to claw your eyes out for this. Bloody Gryffindors, always ruining everything.

At least the weather wasn't horrible as they walked across the school's grounds, McGonagall in the lead since she actually knew where they were going.

Not to Hagrid's hut, Regulus noted, unless the shack had been moved since the last time he'd seen it. But they were going in the direction of the Forest, and not that far away he caught sight of a large figure that could only be the half giant, and beside him…

"Is that a centaur?"

It took a moment for Regulus to agree with Siam, his mind still wrapping around the fact that apparently they were going to be looked over by a centaur of all things. That was as bad as being manhandled by the half giant. And what were they expecting the creature to do, anyway? This was ridiculous.

"Clever of her."

"Why clever? They're known for magical healing, Divination, archery, and Astronomy. How is that of any use? Especially since it's questionable if they even have deviation skills given how vague they always are according the what I've read about them. Like that isn't a common parlor trip of charlatans."

"They know the natural word though, and their fellow beasts."

All right, Regulus acknowledged with a reluctant nod, Siam did have a good point there. And if having the horse look him over alleviated or lessened McGonagall's interest in them, well Regulus was willing to behave even as he scoffed.

And all right, he would admit a small amount of curiosity as well. He'd never met a centaur before. Read and been told about them, but this would be the first time he saw one in person. At least one alive. He knew of a friend of his father's who'd kept a stuffed one in his study, along with a number of other magical creatures. Personally he'd found the room grotesque, far worse that the collection of house elf heads at home. He'd never understood why Kreacher had looked forward to the day when he could join his ancestors on the walls. He wondered what had been done with the creature's body. Buried perhaps, given the Chosen One's Mudblood friend's obsession with Elf Rights.

But now was not the time to be thinking of his former servant, Regulus reminded himself, determinedly turning his attention back to the creature in front of him instead. The centaur was bigger and more…impressive in its appearance and bearing that the one he'd seen before. There was something almost noble about it.

"Hello, Firenze." Teddy and then Allan called out greetings, the centaur in question nodding his head before greeting each boy in turn by name, indicating they'd all met before.

"Thank you for coming, Firenze."

"Professor." Inclining his head in McGonagall's direction, the centaur met her gaze for a moment and then went back to studying each cat in turn, both of whom looked right back at him.

"Before you look them over, Firenze, I wanted to ask if any of your herd has divined something that might help us stop the attacks at the school and discover the culprit responsible."

"No, I'm sorry."

"Thank you anyway. It was a long shot." It went unsaid that they were all aware that even if the centaurs had seen something in the future the answers the centaur would have had for them would have likely been little help in the grand scheme of things.

Firenze inclined his head. "I am ready to see the creatures."

As they walked closer Teddy picked Regulus up and off his shoulder to hold against his chest the way Allan was with Siam, a move Regulus didn't like since it would hamper his movement. With a beast like this his best chance to defend himself would be to go for the thing's eyes, which would have been far easier from his earlier perch. But then he supposed that was one of the reasons Teddy was now holding him instead of letting him remain on his shoulder. To keep him more contained and under his control.

The light of the nearly full moon, combined with the light from the lantern Hagrid was holding aloof by the centaur's side, was apparently more than enough light to see by as Firenze took Siam from Allan, the centaur's hold looking careful to Regulus's eyes, and Siam didn't seem bothered as the two did nothing more than stare into each other's eyes for a few boring minutes before the creature broke the eye contact and handed Siam back over to Allan.

Then it was his turn.

Reminding himself to just suck it up and get through it, Regulus remained stiff and glared at the centaur to the best of his ability, hoping that the way his eyes glowed as a cat would freak the centaur out a little even though that thought sounded ludicrous even in his own mind. One step and the creature could crush him to death under his hoof. Though at least that would be quicker than his previous death.

Finally his inspection was over, and Regulus found himself being handed back over to Teddy who immediately held him close, like he'd been worried the centaur wouldn't give him back.

"So they're just cats then, eh?" Hagrid wanted to know, relief obvious in his voice.

"No, not just cats. But no danger to the school or its inhabitants. And especially none to those they are bonded with. They would die before harming the young ones. Protecting them is the task they've undertaken."

The obviously humans and half giant all blurted out various versions of 'What?' in response to that.

For their part Siam appeared intrigued, while Regulus joined the others in being stunned by what the centaur had said. Were centaurs familiar with others in his situation? Was the situation he and Siam were in a lot more common than they'd original assumed? Could this Firenze help them?

"What do you mean, they're not just cats?" Allan demanded to know.

"We call them guardian beasts. Animals with a human's heart and mind behind their eyes. Always they are attached to one person, their purpose to protect that person from impeding danger and death. When the beast or their person is killed the animal becomes dust. Their fates seemed linked together. How these animals come into being…we do not know. They cannot speak to man or other creatures."

"They're…you think they were once human?" McGonagall's expression could only be called highly skeptical.

"Do they act as animals would? I think not given your concerns about them." Firenze's reply was blunt before he met first Allan and then Teddy's gaze in turn, the force of his stare enforcing his words for him. "Keep them close to you whenever possible. They are here for your protection, which their presence makes clear you need."

"But what can they do, little as they are?"

Reaching out Firenze patted Hagrid's shoulder. "They are linked to the boys on a soul deep level, my friend. And as Mr. Potter can attest to, the protective powers of love should never be underestimated. Now I must go if I wish my absence to go unnoticed. Good luck, all of you."

And rearing up Firenze twisted around and then took off in the direction of the Forbidden Forest without giving any of the humans left slack jawed the chance to question him further.

)

"So I know that centaurs aren't known to have anything resembling a sense of humor as we understand it…but is there any chance that that was Firenze's attempt at a joke?" Even to his own ears Tidd knew how ridiculous that sounded, but he was also looking into the eyes of his cat, who was apparently once a human being and was now his protector against whoever was attacking students. It was a toss-up as to which possibility made more sense in his opinion.

"I don't think he'd joke about something like this." Allan pointed out, the redhead not taking his eyes off the cat in his arms either, Siam nuzzling against Allan's chest as if to punctuate the centaur's comment that they were somehow magically protected by the love the felines apparently had for them.

A thought occurring to him, Teddy asked Noir if he loved him, the cat immediately turning his head to break eye contact in what could only be interpreted as a definite no.

And shit, appearance aside Noir did act more like a human than a cat. Hell, Noir acted more like a Black than a regular human being. Which…Huh.

"Hey, do you think they could be like the reincarnation of family members or something? I mean love magic is only as strong as the feelings, right, and we've only had them since this summer."

"Who can say." Was Allan's opinion, though there was something about the way he was now looking at Siam that made Teddy think he was missing something here. "Though he's obviously not either of your parents, Teddy, or he'd act very differently towards you and others. It would likely be more logical to assume that he's someone you knew in a past life, since he was once human if Firenze is correct. Which we also have no way of confirming what Firenze said since I'm guessing that if it's true, our animals' abilities are limited."

"Hagrid, have you heard of animals like Firenze described?"

"No, Professor."

"Then for the time being we'll set aside what he said, though I will look into it. Hagrid, thank you for your help and I will see you tomorrow for breakfast. Boys, it's time we head back to the school so that I can perform my own tests on the cats, and then it will be time for you both to retire for the evening."

Looking at each other instinctively, Allan and Teddy silently agreed that it would be in their best interests to do as she said, and so they said their goodbyes to Hagrid before walking back with her towards the castle, their protectors still in their arms.


	12. On The Scent

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think of it.

On The Scent

After a relatively sleepless night spent tossing and turning, in no small part because their maybe not really cats were in the room with them, watching them try to sleep, Teddy and Allan had a quick discussion just before breakfast that morning, making plans together to meet in the library during their first shared free period to go over the lists they'd managed to put together. The fact that they were under orders to take their cats with them everywhere, complete with notes from McGonagall to clear their presence with any professor that might comment or complain, meant that both boys were resigned to the fact that the two cats would be joining them for their little pow wow.

And so as planned the two teenagers and their furry 'guardians' met up in the library just before lunch, their cats sharing a chair close to the table they'd commandeered and watching them with rapt attention Teddy found more than a little unnerving. But even if McGonagall hadn't ordered them to keep Noir and Siam close Firenze's statement that their lives might well depend on the cats wasn't to be ignored either. Their headmistress mostly wanted them watched because she was convinced that the animals were somehow bespelled and so wanted to make sure they really didn't have anything to do with the attacks, but Firenze had seemed pretty convinced that they were shields they would need against the unknown assailant in the future. Though on that count neither teen could come up with a logical explanation for how two small animals could help them in any way in a battle. Or why they would have them in the first place.

One of the lists they'd gone over earlier had been Teddy's list of deceased individuals who might be willing to come back from the afterlife to guard him, if Firenze was right about their origins. Given Noir's personality, they were both fairly confident it wasn't someone on said list and were at a loss as to who he might have once been. Allan had offered no names up as to Siam's possible identity, and Teddy hadn't pushed him about that. Yet.

"Unfortunately, at this point I think the only way we can begin to hypothesis who will be next is to rate the possible targets according to their standing in society. And even then…we have no way of knowing if Gabrielle was the attacker's latest because she'd learned something, or because her connection to Fred would increase the backlash caused by her attack in comparison to the others, who were relatively unknown." Allan huffed in frustration, there being little the other teen hated more than a problem he couldn't solve. "There are just too many questions and not enough answers."

And more information might only come with more attacks. Possibly even death, since there was nothing to say the attacker wouldn't escalate in the future. Especially, Teddy thought grimly, if he or she was angry over the failed attempt with Gabrielle. Because she might be in one of the weird comas like all the others, but she hadn't been maimed in any way before that. She'd denied the bastard that.

Looking in the direction of the cats, Teddy made his own sound of frustration when they just silently stared back at him. "If only they could talk to us. Tell us what they know or even just confirm that they are what Firenze says they are."

"I would imagine there are rules, restraints put on them that prevent them from revealing too much."

"I asked Noir to take me to the person responsible for the attacks, and he froze like I'd used a body binding curse on him."

"Siam too."

"So they probably know, but can't tell us. That's just great." Teddy couldn't inject enough sarcasm into those words. He was so friggin frustrated!

Allan reached over to pat his hand, right there with him when it came to his frustration levels. "I would imagine they find it even more frustrating, if Firenze is correct. Especially since I can't imagine they enjoy being stuck in the bodies of animals."

That was a good point, Teddy silently acknowledged, having not really thought of it from their point of view. Hell, being stuck like that could definitely explain why Noir was always in such a nasty mood. Not being able to talk would be bad enough, but being treated like an animal when you weren't one…ouch. Now that would be quite the bitch.

"And speaking of frustration, how many times do you think Victoire is going to have to turn down that roommate of yours before he understands the futility of his endeavor? I mean, is it going to take her maiming him beyond magical repair before he gets it into his head that she's more likely to injury than snog him at this point?"

Turning his head to look in the same direction as Allan, Teddy immediately wince as he spotted Garrick attempting to engage Victoire in conversation across the room, the girl having thankfully not noticed Teddy and Allan when she'd come in since she would have wanted to join them. She would not have taken their request to leave them alone well no matter how politely they asked her, especially since his nose had informed him the day before that…

"Oh fuck a duck. Could it be possible?"

Head swerving immediately, Allan's eyes focusing on him with laser attention as the redhead demanded to know what he was thinking, his blue eyes all but burning into Teddy's.

"We need to know who in the school might have mixed bloodlines, right? And that sort of thing isn't necessarily known or is usually hidden in records either out of shame, or to hide the mixed blood from those who'd harm someone of mixed origins. That's why our list for that is so short. People might not even know there's a giant or whatever in their tree somewhere."

Allan glared at him in frustration. "Yes, we've been over that."

"I know, but…how good is a werewolf's sense of smell?"

"What?"

"Well mine is better than most, my sense of smell, I mean. And that's probably because of my dad, right? So I was just thinking, well, that now wasn't the time for Garrick to hit on Victoire because she's just started her period, which I know because I could smell the blood and_-_nevermind. The point is my sense of smell is better than a regular human's, so would it be possible_-"_

"Christopher." Allan interjected, obviously seeing where Teddy was going with this and thankfully cutting him off before he could babble more in his excitement. "You're wondering if Christopher's sense of smell is developed enough to detect non-human scent patterns."

"He can track people and animals when he isn't in his other form. He can follow scent trails like a boss." No one beat Christopher at hide and seek. Ever.

"No studies have been done to the best of my knowledge." Brows knitting together, Allan's frown deepened with displeasure even as his eyes lit with the possibilities. "Given the way they were treated in the past, and even now, it's not surprising that it's rare for one of them to consent to be experimented on, and only then it would have been for cures or to find ways to enhance the Wolfsbane potion."

"So we need to find Christopher."

"We need to find Christopher."

Nodding in perfect synchronization, the two immediately turned their attention to haphazardly stuffing all their notes and lists into their book satchels and collecting their cats before hurrying over to Victoire, who was visibly fuming over the now absent Garrick.

Though she brightened up when she spotted them, her smile dimming noticeably when they asked her point blank if she knew where her sister's boyfriend would be at the moment.

"What do you want with Christopher?"

"We have a question for him. It's really important, Victoire."

Her bottom lip stuck out a little in a hint of a pout, but picking up on their urgency Victoire didn't make them work for an answer, revealing that she was fairly sure that Christopher and her sister had Care of Magical Creatures after this period, which, according to the clock she consulted, was in seventeen minutes or so.

Both thanking her, the two teenagers and their cats took off running, calling out apologies when the librarian very shrilly called them on their behavior, though they didn't slowing down in their rush to get to their destination.

)

Luck was with them in that Christopher was a very punctual person, good manners and social etiquette having been installed in him at a very young age due to his family's prestige as one of the wealthiest magical families in the world. That he was a werewolf meant Christopher's every action was judged ten times more harshly than it would have been had he stayed a regular wizard, and Christopher's family had trained him to be the best gentleman he could be as a result. Whether he liked it or not.

But Christopher preferred to be on time for things, and so Teddy and Allan were lucky enough to run into the werewolf just outside the castle grounds, Domi at his side as the two headed down in the direction of Hagrid's hut with a few other students. Thankfully the younger man was easy to spot even in a crowd, being both tall and unusual built and muscular for his age. The teenager dealt with the fact that he was a werewolf and at times couldn't control his body by maintain ridged control over it when he could, leading to the honed physic Domi made no secret of loving.

"Hey, guys. What's wrong?" Tensing up just like her boyfriend in response to their expression and body language, Domi's hand in Christopher's tightened. "Someone else…?"

"No, everything's okay." Teddy assured her, explaining that they just needed to talk to Christopher.

At his side Allan continued to pant hard after all the running, but worked up enough energy to give the two of them a little wave since greeting them was beyond him at the moment as he set Siam down on the ground for the moment.

"Then I will stay to translate." Domi's expression dared them to disagree with her, the girl having picked up on the fact that something was wrong no matter what he'd said. And Christopher's vocal cords had been damaged beyond repair by the werewolves that had attacked him as a child, and so consequently her boyfriend could only speak through sign language or writing things out.

Technically Allan knew sign language, and Teddy had a decent grasp on it, but Allan wasn't up to talking at the moment, and for that matter Domi wouldn't tolerate secrets between her and the boy she'd decided she'd marry someday when they were still children. It would be easier just to keep her in the loop in the long run.

"Neither of you can tell anyone about what we're asking. No one. Understand?"

Christopher studied them a moment and then nodded his head, Domi chewing on her bottom lip for a bit longer before finally nodding her head in acceptance. Though she wasn't happy about it.

"Okay then. Christopher, there's no polite way to ask this. How good is your sense of smell?"

"His sense of smell?" Domi repeated in confusion.

But neither Allan nor Teddy was looking in her direction, their attention of Christopher as he signed that his sense of smell was very acute when he was a werewolf, probably at least on par with a normal wolf's, and about seventy, seventy five percent of that when he was himself. Why?

"It's a long story. Is it good enough in this form that you can tell when someone's not completely human? Like can you tell just from scent that Domi has Veela blood and I've got werewolf in me too, for example."

Perhaps to keep Domi from asking questions, since she was again opening her mouth to no doubt interrogate them about what was going on which would only slow things down when time appeared to be of the essence, Christopher tapped her on the shoulder and then angled them so that he was facing her as his fingers moved through the air at a speed that was too fast for Teddy to stand a chance of following along.

"He says that yes, he can tell in both cases, especially since our non-wizarding blood is a recent addition and not further back in our family trees. That the nature of the scent he identifies as Veela varies to some degree depending on the purity of said blood, he's met plenty of my relatives, and also how much the individual make use of that side of their nature. And when it comes to you he says that there are notes to your scent that tell him you're like him but not." Domi translated and then cocked her head to the side as she asked Christopher what Veela smelt like to him.

'Like the epitome of a femme fatale. Seductive, strong, and dangerous' was Christopher's response. 'There are subtle differences in just how the scents present themselves, but those are the thoughts that come to mind at first sniff, so to speak.'

"So that's what I smell like to you?" Domi tone made it clear that wouldn't displease her.

'You're the best smell I've ever scented. No one smells like you.'

"Awwww!"

Teddy and Allan weren't able to ask Christopher any questions for the next couple of minutes while Domi snogged the hell out of her boyfriend for loving her scent so much.

But finally she lifted her head for some needed air, and jumping at that chance Teddy asked Christopher if he could make them a list of all the people at Hogwarts whose scent indicated that there was a chance they weren't entirely human.

Unwrapping his arms from around Domi's waist, Christopher frowned as he signed the question of why Teddy would want that.

Having sufficiently recovered from the run, Allan answered him. "We have reason to believe that the person behind the attacks might not be entirely human. That's why neither of you can say anything to anyone about this. We don't want to cause panic before we know anything definitive there. Especially since certain parties would leap on the idea and use it against those of mixed blood."

"What? Why? What makes you think that the person responsible for this isn't completely human? It's not like the others that were attacked were bad people. Gabrielle didn't have any problem with me or Christopher."

It was Christopher who asked if it was because no one could figure out the magic used to incapacitate the victims. Did they think that indicated that the attacker knew magic not used by wizards.

Having not thought of that, Domi repeated his question for him and then demanded to know if that was it.

"We can't tell you that, Domi. Neither of you. On orders from McGonagall. But we really need that list, Christopher. You know that we wouldn't ask otherwise."

Holding up a finger to indicate he needed a minute to think about it, Christopher ignored them as he mulled over the request while they kept quiet, knowing better than to rush him. And it made sense, given how much backlash Christopher got for being a werewolf, that he wouldn't be okay with the idea of 'outing' anyone just because Teddy and Allan had asked him to. Even for a good cause. It went without saying that there would be those at Hogwarts who wouldn't want it to become common knowledge that they weren't completely human, or didn't know and would be shocked and dismayed to learn differently. Hell, depending on the amount of other blood in them, Christopher outing them could reveal affairs or even adultery that had gone undiscovered until now.

It could be a big deal beyond the obvious possibility of some public embarrassment.

"I'll be right back."

And so saying Domi walked away from them, Allan and Teddy watching as she hailed down a group of three Gryffindors from her and Christopher's year. She only spoke with them briefly before walking back to them, explaining that she'd just asked them to let Hagrid know that she and Christopher might be a bit late, and would explain when they got there.

"I'll come with you guys to say hi to him and let him know that it has to do with the situation. I have a few questions for him anyway." Allan had shown Teddy earlier the list of questions he'd come up with to ask Hagrid when he got the chance.

"I'll come too."

"Sure." Not caring one way or another, Domi squatted down to stroke her fingers over Siam's head and back, both boys making note of the fact the Siam didn't react in any way to the touch. Unlike Noir Allan's 'pet' never seemed to mind being treated like a cat, but he also didn't purr for anyone but Allan. Just like Noir didn't seem to occasionally like anyone but Teddy.

Teddy wasn't about to flatter himself and think that Noir loved him or anything. Though Siam seemed devoted to Allan.

"So is your cat still being as anti-social as hell?" Domi asked, interrupting Teddy's musings as she straightened up again, jerking her chin in Noir's direction.

"Pretty much. I'm keeping him close for the sake of humanity." It was as good an excuse as any.

Having no idea how serious he was Domi laughed at his words, though the beautiful bell like sound of it stopped abruptly when Christopher walked over to take his place at her side, rejoining them now that he'd made a decision.

"He says that he'll make up the list and give it to you, but that you can only show it to people who have to see it. And after this is all done you have to tear it up and forget about the names on it. Oh, and you have to get the people who see the list to swear not to repeat what they've learned either."

"We can do that." Teddy promised, Allan echoing the vow.

Like the teenagers Noir and Siam made sounds of relief that Christopher was willing to help them.

And then then the cats began to plot about how they were going to get their paws on that list too.


	13. Thinking Bigger

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else, obviously.

Thinking Bigger

As much as he was loathed to admit it, and in fact it went against every Black gene in his body to do so, Regulus had to acknowledge that he and his family had perhaps made a tactical error, in not doing more in-depth study when it came to the more sentient magical creatures. He wasn't ignorant, of course, they did study them somewhat in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and there had been the much hated classes for Care of Magical Creatures, but none of those brief overviews, long forgotten now, had given him the knowledge necessary to try and figure out what non-human blood could be currently running through Binoche's tainted bloodstream.

Well there were the obvious kinds to discount, as the boy was too short and frail looking to have giant's blood, and too tall and decent looking to be part goblin. And since it was the possibility that the magic Binoche was using was unknown to the healers here because it wasn't wizarding magic, well then that ruled out werewolves, and centaurs didn't use magic, per say. Plus the logistics of how one of those would breed with a human were even more disturbing than a giant mating with one.

And he had enough nightmare inducing images in his head already, thank you very much.

Even more vexing, to Regulus's way of thinking, was the fact that odds were that whatever polluted the little gobshite's blood, the being in question wasn't from around here. Beings rarely interbred with their betters, of course, but the results when it did happen, and the magic that might arise from such a situation, should be known to the healers in an institution as old and well-funded as St. Mungo's. And Binoche was only half British, the other half of his genes coming from France.

He had no idea what foul creatures resided in France.

Siam probably knew a great deal about them too, Regulus mused grumpily to himself, since his partner in all this seemed to collect and horde knowledge like a goblin did gold and gems.

Ergo he was most likely going to have to wait for the other cat to tell him his theories, or if he was lucky Christopher would come through for them first, so that Siam wouldn't be able to gloat about figuring out Binoche's bloodlines before him. Merlin but he hated when Siam went all smug and superior on him. As if that furball could ever be superior to a Black. Never happen.

Sniffing disdainfully at the very idea, Regulus turned his head to look in the direction of his human partner, Teddy's nose buried in a book at the moment as he worked on a Transfiguration essay. The boy was obviously having problems writing it, but giving him the benefit of the doubt Regulus chose to assume that it was a matter of Teddy having too much on his mind as opposed to the subject being too difficult for him. Because it shouldn't be, and if it was Regulus was going to drop some books on the Hufflepuff's head to see if that kick started the boy's brain a little. He had the Black genes after all, and Regulus refused to believe that the other inferior blood in the boy's bod had been able to overpower their shared superior genetics.

"You know it's not polite to stare, Noir."

If Regulus had had a voice or eyebrows, he would have pointed out that Teddy had been staring at him plenty since the meeting with the centaur, and raised one of his eyebrows for emphasis.

"This would be so much easier if you could talk."

Staring back at the boy, Regulus hoped his gaze adequately conveyed his thoughts on that.

"Right. You probably hate this even more than I do."

No shit.

As if he'd heard Regulus's thoughts, Teddy's face broke into a grin and he laughed, the joyous sound making Regulus want to laugh too, or at least smile. The boy was damn infectious that way. He hadn't been the type to laugh when he'd been human enough to do so. In fact…Regulus couldn't honestly remember the last time his human self had laughed in light hearted amusement at something. In distain or mockingly, yes, but not happily. Not so that his face lit up and his whole face was dominated by a smile the way Teddy's was.

Which was probably for the best, actually. Most of the wizarding community would assume that the world was coming to an end if they ever saw a Black smile and laugh as Teddy did.

Still grinning like an idiot, though the laughing had died off, Teddy reached over to give Regulus's ears a good rub, which Regulus did his best not to purr over, and then Teddy went back to his essay and Regulus went back to trying to figure out how he was going to convince Teddy to take him to the library so that he could get his descendant to check him out some books on European magical creatures.

Twenty odd minutes later he still hadn't had any luck, nor Teddy with his essay, when a house elf popped up beside them to inform Teddy that his grandmother was here to see him, and was waiting for him in the headmistress's office.

"Brilliant. Thanks."

Thinking along the same lines as Teddy, which was that perhaps Andromeda had some good news for them, or at least some way to make Teddy safer, Regulus made not a sound of complaint when Teddy scooped him up into his arms after collecting his schoolwork and putting it away, so that they could head out to find out what had brought Andromeda to Hogwarts.

)

Getting to her feet as soon as they'd entered the room, Andromeda was the picture of cool, elegant poise, which Regulus naturally approved of. She always had known how to conduct herself in public, he silently acknowledged, even if her common sense had been severely lacking when it came to who she'd decided to marry. Though looking at what had become of his two other cousins, who'd both married men of proper bloodlines and standing, Regulus could understand why Andromeda didn't seem to see her choices in a negative light. The way Lucius and Rodolphus had conducted themselves…hell, the way they and Regulus's cousins had behaved after Regulus's death was beyond disgraceful. Bellatrix had killed their own flesh and blood, for Merlin's sake.

Unforgivable.

He'd let Sirius live, after all. And if he could rein in his completely justified homicidal tendencies where his brother was concerned, than Bellatrix should have done the same and spared or simply wounded Teddy's mother. Family and blood always came first.

"Grandmother."

Not complaining when Teddy set him down on his feet, Regulus watched as the boy moved to embrace his grandmother, the hug appropriate and brief before Andromeda pulled away, the hand she brushed over Teddy's hair doing nothing to keep down the rather spikey look Teddy was sporting at the moment.

"You're well."

"Frustrated. Big time. But good, otherwise. You?"

"Your godfather continues to check on me weekly, and is now trying to convince me to move in with him and Ginny until the coward you're all hunting is caught. I told him no." The look she aimed in Teddy's direction made it clear that he wasn't to argue with her about this. "And since you have schoolwork and classes to get back to, I'll get straight to the point of my visit."

He'd always liked the fact that Andromeda didn't beat around the bush, Regulus thought as he sat down beside Teddy's feet, eager to hear why she'd come as well.

"First of all, I've brought you a security device Hermione came up with." Andromeda picked up a pouch that had been lying on McGonagall's desk, and handed it over to Teddy. "The coins are similar to those carried by members of Harry's defense club when he was a student here. There's one for each of you, and all you have to do is touch it to your skin and say 'Help', and it will make other coins, which I and all the Potters and Weasleys will keep on our persons at all times, heat up. We'll know you need us, and we'll be able to track you through your coin."

"That's bloody brilliant! I'll make sure they get them ASAP."

Huh. That was rather ingenious, Regulus was willing to acknowledge. Though the coins wouldn't do the children any good if they didn't have enough control over their bodies to activate them. But on the off chance that they could be used, having help protecting Teddy would be appreciated. Even if the help would mostly be made up of Gryffindors.

At least they could act as human shields, if nothing else.

And speaking of Gryffindors, where was McGonagall, anyway?

Like they were sharing thoughts, Teddy looked at McGonagall's desk questioningly, and then asked where the headmistress was, since this was her office.

"While we were waiting she received a message from the Ancient Runes teacher. It required her to leave. She was gracious enough to allow me to remain behind to speak with you here."

"She didn't seem upset, did she? Like someone else has been attacked?"

"No. She just seemed annoyed." Andromeda shook her head as she spoke, and then she was turning her attention to explaining the second reason why she'd come. "The other items I came to deliver are these books, here. They're the best I could find in English concerning magical beings from all over the world who could conceivably crossbreed with a human being. I thought that when Allan is done with the books he's currently reading he could help you with them, and I'll read some other titles at home." A knowing little smile. "From what I understand Allan's already checked out all the relevant books from the school's library, but Luna Scamander's grandfather in law recommended these personally, when I had her to ask him for advice."

Scamander? As in Newt Scamander? Perfect, Regulus thought. She really had thought this through.

"How'd you know I needed these books?" Teddy asked as he picked up the first book to start flipping through it with interest.

"It's only logical to assume, given the clues you and Allan have gathered thus far, that the individual you're looking for is either the child of a family with Muggleborns, or has other magical beings in his or her family tree. Given that the magic used to put these children into comas is currently unknown, the latter is more likely."

"Exactly."

The two smiled at each other in agreement, though Andromeda's was a slight curl of her lips, while Teddy's was full blown.

"I'll keep you updated if I find anything interesting in the books I have, and expect you to do the same."

Teddy nodded immediately, promising to start reading as soon as he had the chance.

"Don't neglect your schoolwork too much."

"Yes, Grandmother."

Making a sound that made it clear she didn't trust Teddy on this point, Andromeda didn't argue, but motioned for Teddy to take a seat as she ordered him to tell her everything that the centaur had said about the cats when he'd met them, word for word to the best of his ability.

Since this wasn't anything new to him, and he had better things to do than listen to Teddy relate the centaur's crazy ideas of how he loved and was somehow soul bonded to Teddy, which was utterly ridiculous, obviously, Regulus walked across the floor and over to the chair behind McGonagall's desk, using it as a sort of stepping stool to get from the floor to the chair, and from there to the top of the desk itself so that he could get a look at the pile of books his cousin had brought them. Eight in total, with most of them being medium sized volumes, which he appreciated. Manipulating pages and such was difficult enough without the books being large tomes. Though the one…Regulus was fairly sure if it fell on him in his present form, he'd end up flattened like a pancake.

Death by book. Not a good way to go.

And of course the top book would be big enough to cause damage if it fell on him, so there was no trying to knock it over so that he could get a better look at it.

So he'd content himself with reading the spines and mentally debating which book to start with while he waited.

)

And discussing what the centaur had said didn't take long; the beast hadn't exactly delivered a lengthy or informative explanation, after all. And when Regulus felt two sets eyes on him, and turned to see that both his relatives were looking at him, Regulus got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach over the intensity of their gazes. Particularly Andromeda's. Teddy was all she had left, after all, and there were basically no lines a true Black wouldn't cross to protect someone they loved. From what he'd seen Teddy was pretty much his cousin's sole reason for living at this point, and if she thought for one minute he was a true threat to him she'd kill him very dead. And not humanely.

"I…ah…thought you said you'd done everything you could to check him over."

"I did. I'm not going to harm a hair on his head, Teddy. I might not put a lot of faith in the divinations of centaurs normally, but I do trust them to know the difference between a regular animal and something more. I simply want to test a hypothesis of mine."

"Asking him won't do you any good though, no matter how you phrase it. Allan and I have both tried everything we can think of, and he has more brains than even you and I put together."

"True. But humor an old woman."

"You aren't old."

"Flattery won't change my mind, either."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Teddy gave him a rather pitying look. "I'll be right back, Noir. Be good."

That did not sound good for him.

Black pride kept Regulus from attempting to give Teddy a beseeching look, tempting though it was. He probably wouldn't have been able to pull the look off anyway. And Black pride meant running was out of the question as well.

Watching Teddy go until he was out of sight, Regulus's gaze swung back over to Andromeda as soon as they were alone together, bracing for the worst.

Rising from the seat she'd taken, Andromeda smoothed down her skirts and then walked over to stand in front of the desk, looming over him as she met and held Regulus's gaze with the piercing eyes of a Black. The eyes, in this case, of someone who would show him no mercy if he crossed her.

"I knew you weren't a normal cat. And while I find the idea that you're some sort of guardian beast meant to protect my grandson laughable, I can't discount the possibility either. I'll discount nothing that might keep him safe. So entertaining the idea that this Firenze was right, that leaves me with the possibility that you are in fact a wizard trapped in the body of a cat. And someone that loves him."

Regulus wrinkled his nose automatically at that, because he didn't love Teddy. He was simply looking after him for his own purposes, as well as to protect a member of his family. Love did not come into it. Well, not exactly. Love of family could technical apply, he supposed.

"Assuming that you were once a man, and one who died somewhat recently and has reason to want Teddy to live, the possibilities are fairly limited. You are not my husband; nor are you my son in law. You're not Remus's father, nor grandfather. I say that because personality wise you're a Black from nose to tail, though not Sirius. He'd come back to protect his friend's son, true, but Sirius never was a Black at heart. In fact, there's only one true Black of my acquaintance who would care about Teddy's well-being aside from myself simply because he's blood. And family and blood meant enough to this person that he'd die for it. And that Black would be my other cousin."

Bending down, her hands coming around to cup his furry face between her hands, Andromeda's gaze continued to hold him in place as she spoke his name.

"Regulus."

The sound of his name being spoken, of being seen and recognized for who he was and not just some odd cat, had a jolt running through Regulus's body like a bolt of electricity, his muscles bunching up as a pain took over that reminded him of the growing pains he'd experienced as a teenage boy.

And then in a snap it was over, and Regulus felt utterly normal and oddly…refreshed? Though now that he was paying attention to her again Regulus noted that Andromeda's eyes had widened slightly in a way that puzzled him, given her usual cool manner. Why was she giving him that odd look?

"Well I'll take that as a yes."

What? What was she referring to?

A hint of amusement in her eyes, and then Andromeda was letting him go and shifting her attention to opening the bag she'd set on the corner of the desk, retrieving something from it. Something she had to open, and then suddenly she was holding it out in his direction. It was a mirror.

When he'd come into McGonagall's office he'd been the size of a regular, slender house cat, but now…he was almost three times the size he'd once been. He looked the same, otherwise, but he was definitely much bigger.

Brilliant.

"Well don't you look pleased with yourself."

And with you, Cousin, Regulus silently returned.

"I won't tell him who you are. I don't know how he'd react. He knows the best and the worst of you, Regulus, and there was plenty of both despite how short your life was. If it's true that you're key to his continued well-being, I don't want him doubting that he can trust you because you once wore the Dark Mark with pride."

That made sense, though Regulus couldn't help but wonder if he'd grow even bigger if more people knew who he actually was.

Still, even if he didn't grow any bigger than this he was still larger than Siam was.

And he couldn't wait to see the other cat's face when he got a load of him.


End file.
